Code Geass: The Fractured Black King
by DivineDemonDragon
Summary: Everyone, including he, thought he was a man using masks. Each 'mask', however, was it's own person. And when the fragments converge over those he cares about, will the rifts between them close - or become cemented? (Lelouch with mental trauma, rating changed due to language, no lemons, sorry) I do not own Code Geass.
1. Prolouge

**AN: Konnichiwa. I'd first like to apologize for getting anyone's hopes up with my earlier quick-uploading. It's like when you sprint at the beginning of a race, you end up with no energy less than half-way through. So, while I'm working on the next chapter of **_**Hybrid God**_** here's a sneak peak of one of my other ideas, featuring a Lelouch who has a special case of Dissociative Identity Disorder.**

Prologue

_Lelouch vi Britannia _

Lelouch Lamperouge

**Zero **

Most people assume that these names identify distinct masks of the man in question. Those of us, however, who knew him well enough, knew better.

These weren't just masks – they were Lelouch himself. The loss of his mother, the alleged abandonment by his family and the war for Japan and its aftermath didn't just scar him – it broke him. And it took almost a full decade for the pieces to come back together.

These different Lelouches each were created by and in turn changed Lelouch.

**Zero: the Black Knight, the Man of Miracles, he who seeks justice. **

Lelouch Lamperouge: the Student, the Brother, he who wishes for peace

_Lelouch vi Britannia: the Vengefull Prince, the Abandoned Prince, he who longs for comfort – for love _

Everyone has dealt with one of these three before – those who know them all, however, can be counted using one's hands. Nunally, Suzaku, Euphiemia, C.C. – we've all seen and spoken to each of these three.

You know, I, for one, might've gone my entire life without ever meeting "Lelouch vi Britannia".

But you know what?...

I have never regretted it. Never will, either.

**AN(Edit): I found out my original wording of the 3rd to last line was a little misleading, so I changed that. I also removed Milly from my list of names because she didn't meet the criteria of knowing all of Lelouch (she never really interacted with Zero). As for who the narrator is - I've already named the other possibilities. Heads up, though, I intend to include at least the first half of Shinjiku in the next chapter (up till Kallen &amp; co get recruited), so it might be awhile before it's out. Until next time!  
**


	2. Chapter 1: Shinjiku

Chapter 1: Shinjiku (The day hell broke loose)

(_Sunday, August 2017 a.t.b.: It has been 7 years since the invasion and capture of Japan, now known as Area 11. For one boy, it has been that long since he had seen his people at peace. For several girls, it has been that long since they have seen some of their favorite siblings. For one girl, it has been almost as long since her family has been happy. For one boy – it has been 7 years since he has been completely sane._)

(_Tokyo Settlement_)

"Oh, thank heaven, I'm saved! Are things going well at school?"

"What have we here, school boys?"

"{humpf} Well, look at this. A nobleman."

"I envy you kids, you have so much time on your hands... time for regrets. What's your name?"

"Lelouch... Lamperouge"

"Woah, now wait a minute, you can't win this one. It's impossible, right?"

"Rivalz? When do you think we would have to leave, in order to make our next class?"

"Uh, 20 minutes if we bust our hump."

"_Then be sure that you drive safely on the way back._"

"Huh?"

"_I'll need 9 minutes. And by the way, about yesterday..._"

"Understood sir. We'll discuss it later."

"Nine minutes? You only have 20 seconds per move!"

"_Enough time._"

"Hm? You start with the king? {laughs confidently}"

"_{smirks}_"

"(quietly)Shirley's probably fussing about us – or rather, him – right now. {giggles} Again."

(_less than nine minutes later_)

"I *love* playing against the nobility!" The blue-haired boy named Rivalz exclaimed to his partner, who had just left _another_ noble staring at his own defeat in disbelief, "When they lose they always pay out of pride." They were on their way out of the building. "By the way! Eight minutes 32 seconds is a new record!"

"He also didn't have much time to move, either," replied his (proclaimed) best friend and partner-in-crime, Lelouch, followed by a twitch in his left amethyst eye, "_And, as far as opponents go – the nobles are tepid. They're just over-privileged parasites – that's all._"

"W-Well then," said Rivalz, choosing to overlook the scorning undertone his friend acquired, "why don't you challenge the Elevens? Heh, they're nothing like us Britannians."

"_I wonder._"

Right then, an announcement was made by Clovis la Britannia, 3rd prince of the realm, in regards to the terrorist attack of the day. At the end of his obviously racist and self serving speech, he asked for a moment of silence for the fallen *Britannian* citizens.

"Well, aren't you gonna join in?"

This question was directed towards Lelouch, who replied, "Aren't you?" to his partner while helping him get his motorcycle with its sidecar out of parking.

"Heh, it's, sort of embarrassing." "

And I agree with you." His left eye twitches. "_Besides, spilling tears over the dead won't bring them back, now, right?_"

"Daang, that's... dark buddy." Rivalz put on his helmet and goggles with a nervous grin. "_It's all about self-satisfaction,_" Lelouch replied while taking care of the parking expenses. He breathed in and sighed, saying: "Doesn't matter how hard you try," he looked at Clovis' image on the public screen, "you can't do it. There's no way you can change the world"

'_As if, there has to be a way._'

'**There's always a way.**' Blinking, the youth shook his head, wondering just what had made him think things like that.

(_a little later, on the road_)

"That first move you made,"

"Hm?"

"Why'd you start with the king?" Rivalsz asked his friend as he drove them back to school, missing his friend's eye twitching again.

"_...If the king does not lead, how can he expect his subjects to follow him?_" was the answer.

"... What's with that?"

"... With what?"

"Do you fantasize about running a major corporation?"

'_You mean, like, the country?_' Lelouch blinked, and shook his head, "What!? No way," he flashed a grin towards his friend, "ambitions like that can only ruin your health."

Just then, a loud horn honked as a transport truck came up behind them – fast. Rivalz panicked as the truck almost crashed into them, only to swerve left and crash into a construction zone. After having braked a little too hard, Rivalz looked over and asked, quite unnecessarily, "Eh... was that our fault?"

"I don't think so," Lelouch voiced his disagreement, though he worried whether the other driver got hurt. He then noticed something... he wasn't sure what to call this feeling, but he did notice something as he took off his helmet and stepped towards the truck.

"Aw man, this sucks. Looks like the power line on the bike got cut." Lelouch proceded to take off his goggles: "Yeah... Rivalz come check this out-"

Lelouch heard the sound of a gathering crowd, some showing their friends the scene, others filming it to share later, a few even talking about how someone should go help. But not one of them stepped forward.

'All those idiots.'

'_They're just enjoying the show._'

'**Someone needs to set an example.**'

Lelouch shook his head again. 'Damn, what are all these weird thoughts?' They didn't usually come this often. In fact, the second one came almost never, while the first voice would announce itself several times a week.

'No time for this,' he decided. Setting his helmet and goggles into the sidecar, Lelouch ignored Rivalz' protests and went to the truck to see if the driver needed help.

"Hey! Are you alright?"

In the meantime, a red-headed girl in the passenger's seat of the truck stirred, slowly waking up.

Rivalz, unable to fix the damage with what he had on hand, complained: "Yeah, yeah, I know it's the right thing to do, but I wish the guy would quit flaunting his pride and just, give it a rest for awhile, ya know? Now we're gonna be late to school."

"Nagata? Nagata!" The red-head tried to wake up her partner, the driver.

Lelouch, receiving no answer, found a ladder and climbed it up to the truck-roof. "Can you hear me? Are you okay?"

Suddenly, he heard a voice, this once different from the others first and foremost because it was female: "It's you! Finally, I have found my-" "Hn?" the boy wondered, "But where...?"

Right then, the driver, Nagata, put the truck into gear (Lelouch kept calling: "Are you in there?") and drove, throwing the boy through the open roof into the trailer, right next to a large, bulbous apparatus. "Stop, I'm in here-!" Lelouch cried, only to be unheard as the vehicle took off with him.

Rivalz looked after the truck, unaware that his friend had just been 'kidnapped'. His first question was if this was considered a 'hit and run'.

As they reached the road again, Lelouch's first complaint was: "You'd think they'd stick a ladder on the inside, too... -" ["Stop the vehicle!"]

He heard the military ordering the truck driver to surrender.

"Great, even the military has shown up," the driver complained, "Now what do we do?"

"That's why I'm here for, isn't that right?" replied his companion as she removed her cap.

Meanwhile, Lelouch was freaking out. 'The military!? Why are they here?! Does that mean I'm on a terrorist truck-'

All of a sudden, his left eye twitched, and he calmed down, weighing his options. "_If I jump out I'll die - by gun or gravity. I _could_ try to call-_"

He was interrupted by a hissing sound, as the door to the front seats opened up. A girl with spiked red hair walked past Lelouch as he hid behind the round device. He heard her converse in Japanese with the driver as she took off a grey over coat.

"We can get to the subway through the Azuba route," she said, tossing the coat aside and climbing into a machine in the far back, wondering if the day could get any worse.

"Kallen," said a voice from the front, "Let's use 'that' now!"

Kallen would've replied right away, if she hadn't heard a surprised cough at the sound of her name. Turning around, she found that, _yes_, the day _could_ get worse!

"That would be a massacre!," she said, moving in on the stowaway as Nagata reluctantly agreed to her. "What are *you* doing here?!" she hissed at him in Britannian.

Doing his best to keep his voice down, Lelouch asked: "Kallen? That's really you?"

Kallen blinked, her blue eyes taking in the sight. Gone was the 'ice prince' of the school, what she saw was a boy trying to stay calm when his eyes told her he was scared out of his wits in a situation he obviously didn't ask for.

Gunfire outside and Nagata's voice reminded her of the situation, "We'll talk about this later. Wait till the truck stops, then get out, stay out of sight, and get back home."

He nodded, before a thought struck him: "What about you?" Kallen almost laughed at that, until she remembered how he usually saw her.

"I'll be fine," she assured him, turning back towards her beat-up Glasgow Knightmare. Right before entering, she turned back to the boy. "Lelouch," he looked at her, "you better get back to your sister – _alive_ – or you're in big trouble."

Lelouch blinked, his left eye twiching, before letting out a hearty laugh. "_Hai, ojou-sama, wakatteru._" (Yes, my lady, I understand.)

Kallen blanched, shook her head, got in the Knightmare and went out to kick Britannian but. "You fellas know full well how powerful this badass mother is, right?"

Lelouch sighed, and skook his head, standing there with a lop-sided grin on his face. 'You know, I think I like her better this way – not like I like her *that* much, mind you.' He was unaware of Rivalz' fruitless attempt to locate him.

Suddenly, he frowned, remembering his situation, which caused his left eye to twitch.

'_So, they're genuine terrorists. Having one as a classmate *is* a surprise but,_' he look in the general direction of the Knightmare, '_the fact that I never suspected her is what's interesting. And that face at the end was so worth it._' He grinned. '_Not as fun as showing up the usual nobility, mind you._'

'_Regardless,_' he continued, looking around the trailer until he caught sight of Kallen's, likely forgotten, radio in the over-coat's pocket.

Kallen, in the meantime, was too busy to wonder what her classmate and, she'd never admit it, first school-friend was doing in their truck (and where he'd learned Japanese) as the military helicopters were relieved by a Britannian Knightmare, a Sutherland, which proceeded to damage her Glasgow's left arm.

"Kallen!" Nagata's voice came from the inbuilt radio, "Change of plans! We can't both get killed here! Run for it!"

"But-" she replied, only to hear gunshots behind her, followed by the truck moving towards the tunnels. Another Purist Knightmare stood in the direction it diverted from.

Kallen tried to fire her left Slash Harken, but it malfuntioned. "Eh? It's stuck! Why?!" Thinking quick, she discharged the rest of the arm into her opponent, using the resulting smoke as a cover to get away.

'_Tch. No cell-phone reception. We're out of range._' Lelouch was calmly assessing his possibilities. '_Judging from the darkness and road surface we must be driving along the old subway lines. They're heading for an exit in the ghetto. That girl is right, I shouldn't let anyone see me. I might actually call on military protection this time – oh,_' he thought, realizing something, '_I forgot... _'

Meanwhile, the person he just remembered forgetting about was busy pushing his cycle back to school, complaining about his friend.

Said boy had no idea he was sitting right next to an alleged poison gas container.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The captain of Clovis' Royal Guard briefed the Honorary Britannians at his disposal on their mission, as Suzaku Kururugi set out on a day which would yet take many strange turns.

As he explored the old subway-system, he heard a crash to his right. Following the sound, he came upon a truck with a wheel stuck in a large crevice. Right then, the trailer opened up from the side, revealing the target of his search.

Suzaku sent the signal to his superiors, as previously ordered. Then, however, he noticed someone next to the container.

Assuming the other to be a terrorist, Suzaku assaulted the man and pinned him to the ground. "_Are you britannian?_" "That's enough mindless murder," Suzaku replied. "_Wait, I'm not one of–_"

"Plan to use poison gas?" Suzaku didn't allow his opponent to make excuses, "Don't play dumb with me!"

"_Get off me!_" Suzaku jumped away from the other boy, who'd tried to kick him, "_I'm not here by choice. And if that's poison gas it was made in Britannia – wasn't it!?_" Seeing him stand up, Suzaku finally recognized his old friend. "... My god."

"_Mindless murder, huh?_" Lelouch looked at the soldier determinedly, "_In that case – why don't you just destroy Britannia?!_"

"Lelouch," Suzaku removed his helmet, revealing his wavy, brown hair and green puppy-dog eyes, "it's me – Suzaku."

Lelouch started, remembering his Japanese childhood friend – from a time when everything started going downhill. "_You... you became a soldier – for Britannia?_"

Suzaku winced, remembering how his friend tacitly hated his own country.

"Yeah... but what about you? You're a-"

"_What are you saying?!_"

Just then, the giant capsule malfunctioned, causing it to open. Suzaku immediately covered Lelouch's face with his own gas mask, knocking them both to the ground.

Looking behind his old friend, Lelouch beheld a girl with long, lime-green hair and golden eyes, dressed in a standard prison suit, with straps binding her arms, legs, and mouth. His old friend turned around.

"That is not... poison gas... (?)" Suzaku remarked. Seeing the girl fall over, unconscious, apparently, Lelouch went over to help her.

Elsewhere, Kallen was in her Glasgow, talking about her forgotten radio: "Sorry, the situation's messy and I..."

["It's okay,"] came the reply, ["you can use the Glasgow to communicate. More importantly, is it really...?"]

"Yeah," Kallen said, wondering if she should inform her leader, Ohgi, of Lelouch. She decided against it. "I think it's poison gas, like the intelligence says."

["And Nagata?"] "I don't know. I think he made it to the subway but..."

Meanwhile, the two boys were busy untying the unknown girl's restraints.

"_Tell me the *truth*, Suzaku,_" Lelouch said, "_Poison gas – this girl?_"

"H-hey," Suzaku said, not liking the icy tone in Lelouch's voice, "it's what they told us in the briefing, I swear to-"

Suddenly, bright lights flashed from the tunnel as the Royal Guard located them. "You stinking monkey," said the captain, narrowing his eyes, "Being an Honorary Britannian will not excuse you."

"But sir!" Suzaku replied, running up to his superior, "I was told this was poison gas–"

"How *dare* you question orders!"

Lelouch went over the situation in his mind: '_This is bad... if they covered this girl up with *poison gas* of all things... then knowledge of this girl will prove dangerous to these people – maybe even Clovis!_'

Just then, he heard Suzaku's commander order him to kill 'the terrorist'. The latter's refusal to obey the order touched Lelouch. '_Suzaku..._'

"_Don't bother,_" he told him, catching everyone's attention, "_he'll have us both killed either way. Why? Because we've seen too much._"

"Smart kid," said the captain, aimed his gun at Suzaku's side and shot him.

'_That bastard!_'

"Well, school boy, you weren't smart enough to attend class today, it seems. Collect the girl, and then kill the boy."

""Yes, my lord.""

All of a sudden, the truck blew up, inadvertently giving Lelouch enough cover to get away with the girl.

(_The G-1 security footage recorded this just after the blast_): (Clovis:) "The plan has moved forward to the next phase." (Bartley:) "Uh, b-but your highness-!" (Clovis:) "If knowledge of her gets out, I'll be disinherited. Tell them back home we're carrying out a planned urban renewal here. As Clovis, 3rd prince of the empire I command you... Destroy Shinjiku Ghetto – leave no one alive!"

As Lelouch ran down the ruined corridor with the green haired woman, she tripped on a rock and fell down. Explosions could be heard outside as Lelouch stopped to catch his breath.

"_What the hell are you!?_" Lelouch demanded, "_This madness – it's all because of *you*, isn't it?!_"

"_Not only that, but... Britannia has... they even killed *Suzaku*!_" There was no way he'd forgive them for that.

(_a little later, at the exit_)

Lelouch crawled up the stairs, trying to stay down. "_Stay quiet, and wait here_," he told the girl behind himself.

He ventured a look above the rim, but the sound of a semi-automatic made him duck again.

"Report."

"We've found only Elevens her, sir."

'_Damn it,_' Lelouch thought, '_it's Clovis' Guard!_'

"... You're sure that exit comes out here?"

"Yes sir, it matches the old city maps we have."

Lelouch heard a child start to cry in the background, only for gunfire to silence it.

'_A massacre!? Unless Clovis has a damned good reason-_'

Much to Lelouch's misfortune, his cell-phone rang, giving away his position. Needless to say, Shirley had no idea what she'd just done.

The Guard caught them, holding the girl to the side and lining him against the rusting wall.

"What an appropriate location for a terrorist to meet his end."

"_You scum..._"

"Still, you did well – for a student – but that's to be expected. You're a Britannian."

Lelouch scoffed at that.

"Unfortunately, my clever young friend," said the captain as he took aim for the boy, "you have no future."

"He mustn't die!" The green-haired woman stepped out, taking the shot for him to her forehead.

As she fell to the ground, Lelouch said: "_You shot her!_" He knelt to the ground next to her, his hand inches away from hers.

"... Oh well, nothing can be done about it now."

'How can this be happening?'

"We'll tell our superiors that we found the terrorist hideout and killed them all,"

'_First Suzaku's killed,_'

"regrettably, the female captive had already been tortured to death,"

'_and this girl..._'

"what do you think, school boy?"

'_Now I'm about to die,_ _before I've had a chance to do a single thing worth my life... __it's gone in a heartbeat...__'_

'Nunnally!'

Suddenly, he felt someone grab his hand. The next thing he knew, he was seeing strange images, as the green-haired girl's voice called out: "You don't want it to end here, do you?"

"What?"

"How interesting – you have three different personas, yet this does not affect your reason for living...or your deepest wish..."

"_The girl... that's impossible..._"

"If I grant you power, could you go on? I propose a deal. In exchange for this power, you must make my one wish come true. Accept this contract, and you accept it's conditions. While living in the world of humans, you will live unlike any other – a different providence, a different time, a different life..."

"The power of the king will condemn you to a life of solitude. Are you prepared for this?"

Without warning, Lelouch beheld several robbed men and the Emperor, who spoke: "The Ragnorok connection? So the myth is beginning once again?"

That settled it for Lelouch. 'To get back to Nunnally...' '_To kill the Emperor..._'

"**Yes, ****I hereby accept** **the terms of your contract!**"

A surge of power went through Lelouch's arm, to his head and into his left eye. Finding himself back in reality, he slowly stood up, a blank look on his face. He stood up straight and rose his right hand to cover his left eye, the eye brimming with power.

"**So, tell me,**" he challenged the officers, "**how should a Britannian, who is disgusted with Britannia, live his life?**"

"Are you some kind of radical?" the captain answered, before starting at the boy's lack of fear – or any other feeling, for that matter, "Hn?"

"**What's wrong?**" Lelouch continued, "**Why not shoot? Your opponent, is just a schoolboy. Or have you finally realized?... The only ones who should kill...**" He removed his hand, revealing a crimson glow in his eye, shaped like a bird in flight.

"**Are those prepared to be killed!**"

The Royal Guard were getting scared, "Wha-what's happening here?" especially the captain.

"**I hereby command...**" Lelouch spoke, describing a wide arc in front of himself with his left arm, stopping mid-way momentarily to point and his first of many victems, "**all of you... {to die!}**"

After a moment, the captain let loose a creepy giggle, {"Happily, my Lord."} All of them took aim for their own necks. {"Fire!"}

As the soldiers fell to their own bullets, Lelouch continued to gaze dispassionately. Except, he wasn't quite Lelouch. '**It's been a long time since I've been in proper control... Though it's the second time I've had to save us.**' He tilted his head to the side, looking through his own memories. **'My life... a lie...my name... a lie...my personal history... a lie... yes, it's all just lies, ever since we left the homeland, [I] have done nothing but lie... even to myself. And 'I'... 'I' *am* a lie.**'

He laughed softly, not once did his face show any emotion. Looking into a nearby puddle, the boy noted this. '**Lamperouge has all the love and care for our sister, vi Britannia bears all the hatred for the Emperor... I, however, am neither ruled by nor devoid of either. I am the end score for those like Britannia...**'

"**I am... Zero!**"

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

**Zero** wondered if he could still use the girl against Clovis and noticed her wound healing. He decided to take her with him.

Viletta came in with her Knightmare, **Zero** tricked her into getting out after finding out that he needed eye-contact to use his Geass. He ordered her to give up her Knightmare, load the girl in there and forget about him, just in case.

Kallen was having trouble with her pursuers when she heard Lelouch's voice contact her, giving her directions in a strangely charismatic way. After saving her, gathering the rest of the resistance and supplying them with Sutherlands in one go, **Zero** proceeded to take command of the group and the battle. (He asked Kallen to salvage a spare arm for the Glasgow.) Aside from Kallen, all the others knew him only as **Zero**.

With his superior strategic abilities, he basically wiped the floor with Clovis' troops, confirming the mysterious girl's, C.C.'s(C2), immortality on the side. After the first sighting of the Lancelot, however, he ordered a retreat, tasking Kallen to leave her Knightmare as time-bait – *after* promising her a new one.

**Zero** proceeded to board Clovis' G-1, ordering all military personnel off of the vessel, per Geass. C2 followed him, but opted to wait outside of the command-center. He made Clovis order a cease-fire at gun point, but then he lost control of the body to _Lelouch vi Britannia_.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Lelouch regained control right before Clovis finished his cease-fire speech. "Are you satisfied?" asked the upset prince, ignorant of his opponent's identity.

"_Yes, very. Well done indeed._"

"And what shall we do now? Sing a few lively ballads? Or perhaps a nice game of chess?"

"_{humpf} As if, didn't you just lose against me, as usual?_"

"What!? So that was you leading the terrorists?! And what do you mean, 'as usual'?"

"_Why yes, don't you remember? We used to play chess at the Aries Villa. You never won once, though._"

"You... who are you?!"

"_I'm hurt... to think... you wouldn't recognize... *your own brother*._"

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Lelouch recorded the remaining conversation up to Clovis' death at his own hands, though he made sure to keep a separate recording of Clovis' order to wipe out the ghetto. He made sure to use his Geass to question Clovis about his knowledge on the cicumstances of Marianne's death. He then proceeded to condemn Clovis for murdering innocents in the name of gaining the Emperor's favor before killing him.

Lelouch vi Britannia returned to the Lamperouge home, taking the insistent C2 with him.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

It was very late in the evening when Lelouch entered the stundent council club-house where he and his sister, Nunnally, lived. '_That settles my promise with that Kallen girl – although, heh, she'll want a word or two with me tommorow at school. As for being Zero, let'S have some fun for awile, before I make my move on that bastard._'

"_I'm home,_" he called out as he shut the door behind himself.

"Welcome back, Lelouch-sama." Lelouch looked up to find Shinozaki Sayako, their maid and Nunnally's caretaker, courtesy of the Ashford family.

"_Hello, Sayako-san. Is Nunnally asleep?_"

"No," she replied, much to the ex-prince's surprise, "she insisted on awaiting your return. You'll find her in the dining-room." She stole a glance at C2, before giving a questioning look to her master. He signaled her that he'd explain later.

"_Thanks, I'll put her to bed then._" Lelouch said, dismissing the maid. "As you please, Lelouch-sama."

Lelouch entered the dining-room and found his little sister hard at work on her paper cranes. She heard him enter, and turned her lilac-colored eyes to him, "Welcome back, big brother!" She rolled her wheelchair towards him, until he replied in a subdued tone: "_Hello, Nunnally._"

Nunnally looked at her brother, confused, until it clicked. "Are you...?"

"_It's alright, __I am still your brother, that hasn't changed,_" he assured her, "_And if you're worried about the kind Lelouch, he'll be back by morning. As for who I am... if you must know - I was the one you heard screaming back then._"

His sister gave him an uncertain, but serious look, "What happened? Why are you here?" Lelouch cringed, making Nunnally realize her misstep. "I'm sorry! I-"

"_No, it's alright,_" he hurriedly lied to her, "_I... I'll tell you what happend._" He pulled out a recorder, and used it to replay Clovis' orders. Nunnally gasped, Clovis had been their favorite brother out of all of their half-siblings. She remembered him as a kind artist, not a mass murderer.

"_We were in the ghetto, by accident, when it happened. I managed to get us out of the encirclement, but I paid Clovis a visit._" Lelouch pointed behind himself, and introduced C2 to his sister. "_She's the reason he gave those orders. Clovis experimented on her in a secret project. Since only a small number of people even know that she exists, I'd like to shelter her here for the time being._"

Nunnally looked at Lelouch, and asked for his hand. Hesitantly, he gave it to her. She asked him if he'd killed Clovis. "_No, I put him to rest. The man I killed was no longer the Clovis we loved, thanks to the emperor._" Nunnally nodded, tears forming in her eyes. She could tell that he honestly believed that – that he hadn't really killed his favorite brother, just put to rest a wandering spirit.

"Could you... put me to bed?" she asked him, "It's been so long..." Lelouch looked at his dear sister, before smiling gently, his face was that of a man who'd recieved something he'd been longing for for a long time. "_Of course, Nunnaly._"

**AN: First of all, to those of you who have chosen to follow this story, arigattou gozaimashita. I have seen the beauty of working on more than one story at a time - if you get stuck on one, continue with another. I'd like to apoligize for the aprupt change in writing style. I realized, though, that the first style was detracting from the main theme of my story - namely, Lelouch's mental instability(/ies). The rest of my story will, for the most part, keep to the second writting style.**

**If you'd like, the greater part of the chapter emulates the first anime episode - feel free to compare. (I'd like to ask that the flames be kept low, please.)**

** Furudere: It's won't just be romanic love. In this context I mean that he wants, in general, to be loved for who and what he is, whether it's a parent, a sibling, a friend or a lover. And I agree that, while he *did* love Shirley as a friend (that death-scene is tied for second place with Euphie's, Lelouch's takes first by miles), that was the full extent, she was not the sort of 'partner for life' that he'd probally choose, if he had the chance.**

**Starting next chapter, I'll have a section at the top giving an overview of how I'll write speech and thought patterns, especially Lelouch's. See you then.**


	3. Chapter 2: Zero pt1

**AN: **

'thought'

"speech"

"_the prince_"/'_the prince_'

"**Zero**"/'**Zero**'

"_{Geass command}_/**{Geass command}**"

{" under Geass"}

*emphasis*

["Radio talk"]

"{voice effect}"

Chapter 2: Zero pt 1(The false classmate)

(_Monday, August 2017 a.t.b.: Lelouch Lamperouge was brought to Shinjiku by accident, Zero led the rebels there to victory, and Lelouch vi Britannia killed his older Brother, Clovis. One believes himself sane, one knows his own insanity, while one still has doubts. What kind of hell awaits the world at the hands of this three-headed demon? And more importantly – is there anyone who can redeem him?_)

(_Tokyo Settlement, Ashford Academy, Lamperouge residence_)

Lelouch Lamperouge woke up to find C2 in his bed and himself on his own floor. He remembers the events of yesterday, up until the truck crashed underground. Then he remembers a glimpse of Suzaku, then moving through the settlement with the very girl sleeping in the same room.

He also remembers coming home to find his sister waiting for him. He doesn't remember much of the conversation, though he understands that the woman (C2) has been through some trouble and he's offered to let her stay at their house. He also remembers tucking his sister in bed, as usual. He's a little curious about the way he acted around her though. Like he hadn't been with her for years. Before going to school, he checks the news for yesterday, finding out about Shinjiku.

That day, Lelouch takes part in the meeting of the Ashford Student Council, i.e. 'Empress' Milly's personal workforce, including the secretary Rivalz, the treasurer Nina, as well as a girl named Shirley, Lelouch being the vice-president. He helps budget the school funds for the (ridiculous) multitude of clubs. He comes up with an excusable story for disappearing on Rivalz the day before.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"I can't believe it, I bet Madame President is a dirty old man on the inside," complained Shirley, referencing said girl's earlier teasing about the orangette's bust-size.

"W-well, that's Milly for you," says Nina.

"Yeah, but I agree that she is getting a little aggressive with her teasing," Lelouch continued.

Rivalz replied: "Hey, look at it this way – at least we got the budget done." "You mean, 'I' got it done." They all chuckled at that, knowing Lelouch for not being a narcissistic prick.

When they arrive in class, they hear their classmates gossiping about Shinjiku. Lelouch takes a look at the small TVs they all have. Muttering to the point where his friends almost missed it, he says: "Looks more like smoke to me. And aren't those bullet wounds...?" Rivals turned around, surprised: "I thought you weren't into this sort of thing?"

"No more than anyone else should be..." Lelouch looked around for Kallen, only to find that she wasn't there. He wondered if she was in Shinjiku, since the news pointed towards terrorists having been there. He just hopes that the big thing he'd tried to hide behind hadn't been the poison gas they were scape-goating for this.

Suddenly, he saw a footage of the G-1 on a screen. For some reason, he remembered blood, and a gunshot at point-blank. He ran for the bathroom, and made it just in time to haul down the toilet. 'What the hell!?' he thought, 'What was I doing between the truck and home?!'

'_Guess I'm not as strong as I thought I was._'

'**Perhaps next time I should take over.**'

'Who are you!' he thought, hoping to get an answer. He was to be disappointed. 'Either they can't hear me, which suggests it's all fake – or they're ignoring me altogether...' Neither thought was preferable.

When he got back to class, he saw Kallen at the door surrounded by her usual clique. Although, now that he knew she was a terrorist, he could see signs, details, that he'd missed the whole time – how her eyes drooped just a little too low, how her hair seemed to have a slight curl at random intervals, how her hands gripped her skirt just a little too tight, and how her legs were a better fit for a runner than a 'sick' person. He also noted that her hair was down in a bob-cut, not spiked like before, and briefly wondered which one was her natural style.

Kallen found him and excused herself from her 'friends' to talk with Lelouch. She was still mostly convinced that he'd been the one directing her group in Shinjiku, though where he'd gotten that vat of charisma and confidence, she had no idea. He'd never struck her as the leader type – though, according to rumor, he's the only reason none of Milly Ashford's festivals have collapsed on themselves yet, so he did have some skill in planning things.

"Hey, Lelouch," she greeted him, "is something wrong?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"Well, you kind of bolted past me with this weird look on your face. Is everything alright?" Sure enough, he'd missed her as he'd sped for the bathroom.

"Sorry, didn't see you there. Yesterday was just a little hectic, you know?"

'Of course she'd/I'd know, you idiot,' they both thought.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked him. He guessed half of her intentions behind that question.

"Not now, class is starting... how about later, at lunch?"

"Okay, sure. You know a good spot?"

"... yeah, I think I have something. I'll take you there after class."

(_a little later, at lunch break_)

"Soo... Where are we going?" Kallen asked as she followed Lelouch. "The Student Council clubhouse, most people don't come by here unless they have business with us. We *should* be safe."

"Should?"

"You never know with Milly..."

Inside the ballroom, Kallen was still deciding how to approach this. Her thoughts went back to when she'd first met the young man.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

It was the start of their high school freshman year. Kallen felt caged, with bars made of Britannian nobles. She reached for a pencil and knocked down her eraser. A lithe boy bent down to pick it up. As he stood, she realized how tall he was, about a head taller than her.

"Here you go," he said, handing over her eraser. 'I could've gotten that myself, you stuck-up jerk!' "Thank you," she replied, not letting any of her thoughts show. She noticed that he was still staring at her face, 'Oh, god, he'd better not have seen me on the job before...' "Is... something wrong?"

He seemed to realize what he was doing. "I... I'm sorry, but..." he asked, "have we met before?" Now Kallen was getting nervous. 'Oh shit, I hope we haven't!' "N-no... I don't think so..." "Oh, I see."

She saw him think for a moment before reaching out with his hand. "Lelouch Lamperouge." Hesitantly, she accepted it. "Kallen... Stadtfeld," she needed a second to remember her father's surname.

For some reason, the infamous 'ice prince' image from the middle school section didn't fit with what she was seeing here. She hadn't recognized him because it was the first time that they'd shared a class.

A few weeks later, after one of the Emperor's speeches, Lelouch caught her muttering what most Britannians would consider 'treasonous words'. He'd surprised her by agreeing that the way Britannia was handling things was wrong. A more in-depth discussion of ideologies later, Kallen had made her first *real* Britannian friend.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Kallen was roused from her thought when she heard a young voice: "Big brother? Could you help me here?" Turning around, she spotted a girl with sand-brown hair and bright lilac eyes in a wheelchair, which was being pushed by a Japanese woman in a maid-outfit. There were cupcakes and pizza-boxes on her lap. For a moment, the girl started, as if afraid that she'd interrupted something.

Looking back at Lelouch's amethyst eyes, Kallen made the connection, and introduced herself: "Are you Lelouch's sister? I'm Kallen, a friend of his." She did so without a shred of pity. If this girl really was Lelouch's sister, then she was likely to be able to hold her own against other children one way or another.

Nunnally looked up at the red-head, her eyes widening for a moment before returning Kallen's smile: "Why yes. My name's Nunnally. Lelouch has told me *all* about you." Kallen shot at glance at Lelouch, who noticed and shook his head slightly. "{giggle} In fact, you take up a large part of his topic-variety." "N-nunnally!" Lelouch said, his face flushing a little as he took the food off of his sister's lap.

Kallen also found herself starting to blush, though she preferred to think that it was because of her friend having a crush on her rather than the other way around.

Nunnally immediately liked Kallen. She'd already liked her just from hearing her brother talk about her – any girl that could make him that happy had her full support. (Though she felt a little sorry for Shirley, who would undoubtedly be friend-zoned.) But now she liked her even more, partially because she looked like 'that man'. Mostly, however, she liked Kallen for not pitying the younger girl. Little did she know that it was because Kallen had, so far, found little reason to pity Britannians at all. Either way, it was different from how people usually reacted to her.

Apparently, Milly had been planning on inducting Kallen into the council for awhile and wanted to throw (another) party for the occasion. The person in question was a little irked that the president simply assumed that she'd join – until she realized that doing so would allow her to spend more time with Lelouch, which she wasn't always able to thanks to her 'activities'.

After asking Nunnally to give them some time alone (the girl teased them about 'getting some privacy'), Lelouch took a breath before turning towards Kallen. "I won't tell anyone," he said.

"What?"

"I haven't, and won't, tell anyone about you being a terrorist-"

"We're *not* terrorists!" She replied loudly, looking at him sharply, "We're a resistance!"

Lelouch took a moment to realize the distinction. "... Sorry," he said, "I should've known that." He remembered her *not* approving the use of the capsule he'd seen there.

Kallen softened her eyes again, slightly regretting her outburst. She knew as good as anyone that Britannian news did little more than spout propaganda – including lumping all resistance into the category of 'terrorism', for the simple fact that they did not accept Britannian rule. So it wasn't Lelouch's fault that he'd been confused.

She asked the all-important question: "Were you in Shijiku?"

"What?"

"The massacre, were you there?"

"I... I don't know."

"? What do you mean, you don't know?"

Lelouch wanted to tell her about his memory-holes – but he couldn't move his body the way he wanted to. In fact, he had no control over it. 'Wha-what the fuck is happening?!'

Kallen saw Lelouch's face go slack, as if all emotion had seeped out of it. "Le-Lelouch?" She asked, worried. A strange, crimson sigil appeared in his left eye.

Lelouch didn't know what was happening – but whatever had control of his body was going to do something to Kallen. 'Wait! Stop!'

"**I command you...**" Lelouch's mouth said, his arms moving in an (in both of their opinions) unnecessarily theatrical manner, ", "**{cease any and all suspicions of Lelouch Lamperouge being Zero!}**"

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Neither of them (Kallen and Lamperouge) remembered what happened when Zero took over.

Kallen agreed to join the council and the party after school. (Nunnally was setting it up early as a surprise.) During class, Lelouch engaged Kallen in small talk, secretly, of course. When she brought up the fact that she had more reason to pay attention than he did, he relented, slightly unhappy (though he did his best to hide it). She didn't enjoy pushing him away either, but she figured that her cover would hold better if she kept her grades up. At that point, she wondered for the first time why Lelouch always kept his grades at an average. She knew that he was way smarter than she was. She made a mental note to ask him next chance she got.

Unfortunately, at the party, Rivalz ended up getting her soaked with Champagne. After Lelouch (of all people) gave him a harsh reprimand, he went to Sayako to pick up a change of clothes for Kallen.

As she tried to wash of the smell of alcohol, Kallen mumbled to herself: "This is why I hate most Britannians." She wasn't able to deny not hating Lelouch any longer. She just couldn't admit that she liked him in any way.

There was a knock on the door. "It's me," she heard Lelouch's voice say, "I've brought you a change of clothes." "You can come in. I've drawn the curtain already."

Lelouch walked in with fresh clothes in his arms. He saw Kallens silhouette through the curtain and gulped. 'Guess she really is a girl,' he thought. He'd pretended to be uninterested in anything to do with dating, or with having too many friends, which had earned him the moniker of 'ice prince' in middle school. Kallen, however, had drawn his attention for several reasons, which have rapidly increased in the past 24 hours. He liked the fiery, feisty resistance girl he'd seen in the truck. And now that he's had time to look properly (albeit as a shadow), she had *very* nice proportions – her shorter-than-average height taking her figure dangerously close to voluptuous.

"Sorry about all this," he said, smiling nervously as he tried to ignore a certain activity further down in his body, "I know they can be a little over the top."

"It's ok," she replied, "there's nothing wrong with cutting lose every once in awhile, ya know." Actually, hearing Lelouch reprimand his friend for her had helped to mollify Kallen.

"These are some of my clothes," he continued, setting the articles in question in the basket (though he had to kneel a little due to {clears throat} *certain* difficulties), "I, uh, hope that's okay(?)"

Kallen was speechless for a second. 'W-what...?'

"Y-your clothes?" The idea of wearing his clothes wasn't unwelcome, but... "Well, the other girl's agreed that their stuff wouldn't fit you, so they asked me to do it."

"H-How so?" She supposed it had to do with the differences in height and bust size. "Well, you see... truth is, I live here."

That caught her attention. "What?" He'd somehow failed to mention this before. "It'd be kinda hard for Nunnally to live in the dorms, so Milly's grandfather, the principal, lets us live in the clubhouse as a favor."

"What about your parents?"

"Mom's dead... same day that Nunnally had to start using a wheelchair."

Kallen wondered about that. "Are they connected?" The question was out before she realized it. 'Dammit, shut up you insensitive idiot!' she silently berated herself.

Lelouch thought for a moment, and decided to trust her. "Yeah, through I don't remember the details."

"?"

"You see, my memory up until about a year after the war is messed up. Everything before the war is fuzzy, the year afterwards I only remember putting Nunnally to sleep each night."

"Woah, that's..."

"It's okay," he smiles slightly, "I've got Nunnally with me. And Milly. And the council. And... I've got you." This made Kallen happier than she would've liked, causing her to blush.

Also, now that she thought about it, she knew next to nothing about Lelouch Lamperouge, aside from his general character. She made a mental note to remedy that with the council's, and Nunnally's, help.

At that moment, the phone neat to the shower rang. "I'll get that," Lelouch said.

"Hello, Ashford Academy Student Council- No, this is... o-okay," he handed the phone to her, to stunned to notice the long cord wrapping around him. "It's for you."

"What?" she said. Why would someone be calling the council building looking for her, who'd only just joined. Unless they knew that she was there. "He... says he knows you..." The boy continued, an unspoken question hanging in his words. Kallen tried not to be bothered by it.

Accepting the phone, she carefully spoke into it: "H-hello?"

"**Glad you're still alive, Q-1.**"

Kallen gasped. She knew only one voice that sounded so like yet unlike Lelouch, who was wondering just who this guy could be. His voice sounded awfully familiar... "**1600 hours, the day after tomorrow. The observation deck at Tokyo Tower. Come alone.**"

"Who are you?! How'd you arrange that cease-fire order!?"

"Cease-fire?" Kallen mentally smacked herself for forgetting about Lelouch. Then she heard the phone hang up on her. "H-hey! Don't hang up!" she yelled, pulling the curtain open with the phone-cord. She seethed for a moment.

"Uhhm... K-Ka-Kallen?"

"What?" she snapped.

"Well," Lelouch was thinking of how to say this. "I, uh, can see you rather clearly." He didn't dare tell her that he enjoyed the view.

Kallen looked at him, seeing him try not to look her way. Then she noticed the open curtain. "Kyaa!" She quickly drew the curtain and crouched down, still holding the phone.

"So... what was that about a cease-fire?" Lelouch asked, glad that she hadn't noticed his nose bleed. "Ah... remember when I mentioned Shinjiku?"

"Yeah, were you there?"

She may as well tell him. "Actually... it was our group's home turf."

"What!?"

"My older brother, Naoto, founded our group a few years back, though I didn't join until a little before I met you." Lelouch contemplated this. It was true that that year, she began to have longer periods of absence, due to her 'illness'.

"What happened?"

"It all started when we found out about Code-R..." Kallen told him about how her brother discovered a secret project of Prince Clovis, code-named Code-R. It was supposedly a production of poison gas, under the guise of medical equipment. At that point, she finished her shower and asked Lelouch to wait outside for her to get dressed, which he did, after untangling himself from the phone-cord.

While Kallen got dressed, **Zero** went to a geassed Sayako and took back the voice recorder with his side of the conversation with Kallen on it.

Lelouch found himself in a slightly different position and with no memories of what he'd just done, when Kallen came out, dressed in his clothes. 'Now that I think about it,' he thought as he looked at her, 'isn't that all that she's wearing...?' The thought made the heat rush to his face. Kallen's thoughts weren't much farther away, though she secretly took a sniff at the shirt until she realized what she was doing.

As they made their way back to the others, Lelouch nervously beckoned her to continue, and she explained to him how Naoto had been caught by Clovis' men and executed. Lelouch put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, since he could see that the memory still hurt her. She gave him a little smile, to show him that she's fine and reached up to squeeze his hand, showing her appreciation for his support.

She finished with explaining the circumstances of retrieving the 'gas', to how the group tried to hold off the Britannians, to how Zero came to their rescue and lead them to an almost overwhelming victory.

At that point, they reached the meeting room, where the others were talking animatedly. "Hey guys, what's wrong?" Lelouch asked. "Oh Lelouch it's terrible," said Milly, "prince Clovis got killed." Lelouch was shocked, as was Kallen. They both immediately suspected Zero. They were both just *slightly* off. "And interim Viceroy Gottwald is saying that this Kururugi guy did it." "What!?" Kallen looked at Lelouch, as surprised at his outburst as the others were.

Only Nunnally replied without hesitation, but with a sad voice: "That's right Lelouch, they're saying that Suzaku did it." "? You guys know him?" said Rivalz. "He's an old friend, from before the war," explained Lelouch, "in fact, he's that soldier I told you guys about, remember? The one who helped me escape Shinjiku?" Kallen gave him a curious look, which happened to be caught by Milly.

Suddenly, a metaphorical bomb went off inside Lelouch's head: '_GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!_'

'**Sounds to me like the margrave is in for some pain****.**'

Now Lelouch was seriously worried about his sanity – and then it hit him.

The (currently) calmer voice in his head sounded *almost exactly like Zero*.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Lelouch had just put Nunnally to bed. 'She's right. Suzaku would never do that. However...' He looked towards his own bedroom, 'C2 was his guinea pig – she'd have every reason to do it.'

**AN: Ladies &amp; gents, I give you Black Trinity chapter 2. The Zero chapter is divided into 2 parts because of various plot-relevant scenes and moments. Unlike the anime, this fan-fiction is about Lelouch's mental instability and how it progresses in accordance with his relationships. I hope to see you all again soon!**


	4. Chapter 3: Zero pt2

**AN: Events not detailed in the fan fiction are about the same as in canon. Lelouch's conversation w/ Clovis is an exception.**

**(Fai's smile) Actually, my Lelouch L. **_**is**_**, basically, clueless. He doesn't know about being a prince, or Zero. **

**(falconrukichi) Yes, Nunnally can already see, this is an *important* plot-point. **

**(Aryan810101 &amp; Republic) So is Kallen's current ignorance about Zero=Lelouch. And yes, this will be KalxLulu (that's what the bracket on their names under the summary means), but they won't be the only pairing. Though, in case you haven't noticed, Kallen and Lelouch's relationship is already *much* better than in cannon: She doesn't think he's an arrogant prick, she actually gets along with him – as well as one can when they can only meet in accordance with her 'schedule'. I've seen in other fanfics how Lelouch bates Kallen with hidden, underground passages under the school which only the council (and maybe faculty) has access to. Here, he doesn't need it – the opportunity to spend *more* time with someone to whom she can freely speak her mind (unlike those girls), is motivation enough, I think. Another point to their relationship is that Lamperouge is – technically – not lying to her, since he is about equally ignorant about being Zero, and with that Geass command, he can't tell her without irrefutable evidence.**

**(Glorious Winged Mailman) Of course Lamperouge is normal, as much as Lelouch can be if you take away his painful past. vi Britannia, on the other hand... well, you'll see.**

**Zero geassed Kallen because she already knew Lelouch so well, or closely, that he'd entrust her with enough details to make the connection. **

**(guest) For one thing, he didn't have this condition before going to Japan. This tends to require a lot of trauma. Also, this isn't one of those cases with *extreme* differences between the personalities. They are different, but not that much. Finally, if your reread the first chapter, Nunnally *did* notice.**

'thought'

"speech"

"_the prince_"/'_the prince_'

"**Zero**"/'**Zero**'

"_{Geass command}_/**{Geass command}**"

{" under Geass"}/{'under Geass'}

*emphasis*

["Radio talk"]

"{voice effect}"

Chapter 3: Zero pt 2 (The demons' debut)

(_Tuesday, September 1st, 2017 a.t.b._)

Kallen Stadtfeld, a.k.a. Kouzuki, was on her way to meet Lelouch. 'What whould he want to talk about, I wonder?' They both had gym next, though Kallen had a medical notice that let her sit to the side. She came out at the front gates and stopped.

"...Lelouch, what are you doing?" The youth in question was helping Rivalz set up the motorcycle and its sidecar. At the sound of her voice, Lamperouge turned his head and smiled.

"I have an appointment, and Rivalz here is about to be held hostage by madam president."

"Aw, com'on, buddy, you know I can't say no to her."

"Right, sorry, my mistake. You're surrendering yourself to voluntary slave-labor."

"That's ri- hey!"

Kallen gave a snort at the display before asking: "So what do you need me for? And don't you have gym next, too?"

"Wait, Lelouch, you're not gonna make Kallen drive, right?" Rivalz asked.

"Are you nuts? I'm driving," Lelouch turned to Kallen, "as for you, I just wanted some company."

Not that she was unhappy with that, but she raised a brow at the bike: "You can drive?" Lelouch gave her a wink, all but ignoring Rivalz' tirade about why his friend shouldn't be allowed to drive.

'Oh, I'll be driving – once we're out of view.' Can't have her cover blown, after all. "And gym class?" she asked, after Rivalz realized he was going to be late for Milly and hurried off. "Are you kidding?" Lelouch tossed her the red helmet before walking the bike out to where no one would see them.

'Oh, right. He never attends that anyways.'

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Kallen was in awe, there was no way around that. Ten minutes and Lord Brimshire was gaping at the chessboard in utter defeat. She also gaped a little, having never seen Lelouch's infamous prowess in chess for herself, also, it offered further proof to his superior intellect. She even almost suspected that he had dragged the match out on purpose.

During the match, Lamperouge had time to think about C2. She seemed genuinely surprised at his question concerning Clovis' death, as though she expected him to already know. 'Could I be... no, that's ridiculous.' But it made sense. If he was Zero...

"Lelouch?" Kallen's concerned voice brought him back to the present. He saw the noble he'd beat talking sourly with the old man Lelouch had substituted for the match. He recalled how the lord had snorted at the sight of 'the student and his little girlfriend'. Some part of him felt sadistically satisfied with showing the worm his place.

"I'm fine, let's-" Kallen watched as Lelouch's left eye twiched, "_On second thought, I have something to discuss, could you go on ahead, Kallen?_" She wasn't sure, but she somehow felt that something was... well... *off* with her friend. "S-sure, I'll be right by the bike."

Vi Britannia watched Kallen go outside, keeping an eye on her backside before she went out of sight in the elevator. Losing all emotional expression, Zero turned towards the old man. "Is, there something you need, my young friend?"

"**Why yes, {I have a favor to ask of you.}**"

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(_Wednesday, September 2nd, 2017 a.t.b._)

Kallen was in the Tokyo Tower, just as Zero asked her to be. But contrary to his wishes, Ohgi and three others were discreetly following her.

Zero had expected that. He remembered Kallen telling Lelouch about how Ohgi was trying to fill in the role of a guardian that her brother used to have.

At the thought of Kouzuki Naoto, Zero felt vi Britannia get depressed. They both had known him after all, short as it was.

Shaking his head, he waited for Kallen to pick up the disposable cell-phone he left for her before calling it. Giving his instructions, he headed to the front of the train, the passengers all under his Geass.

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(_late afternoon_)

Zero oversaw Kallen and Ohgi building the knock-off of Clovis' personal car. He was unsurprised that only they had come, he was a masked man who could have helped the resistance for any number of selfish reasons. Therefore, he intended to use Suzaku's rescue to gain their trust and that of their cell as well as make his first impression on the world all at once.

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(_that night_)

At the procession for his trial, Suzaku felt like crap, there was no way around that. Who could blame him? He'd been arrested for a crime he didn't commit, would stand trial for the convenience of the Purists, and would likely die while the real killer ran free. Lloyd had said that the trial was just a sham, but the young man refused to believe that. After all, if you couldn't trust the law...no, he immediately perished the thought, unwilling to go further.

Kallen, at the same time, felt like soiling the driver's suit she was wearing. Then again, if Zero's plan went south, they were dead. She was currently driving towards Suzaku's procession, with Zero sitting on the roof, in his scrap-wood 'throne'. It was a last minute addition the man had thought of, something she knew would piss the Britannians off. He also asked for speakers, but didn't say what they were for.

Zero, meanwhile, was rehearsing the speech that vi Britannia had come up with for this little 'act', as well as his own additions. In his right hand was a remote with three buttons, colored and lined up like a traffic light. As traffic control let them through on Jeremiah's orders, _as predicted_, Zero checked the functionality of the slide-mechanism for his eye-slot one last time. Everything had to go without a hitch, or the whole plan would collapse.

Jeremiah waited on what was likely a fake remake of Clovis' transport. At least he'd have himself some entertainment before the predictable trial, which had already lost its luster for him. Boy was he in for a nasty surprise. "How dare you desecrate his Highness' name! Come out at once!"

At that, Zero pressed the green button, lighting up the flag and facade in front of himself to show the world a masked man sitting idly atop a make-shift throne, his head/mask supported by his right hand. "**I am... Zero.**" Many of those watching were confused by the name.

The sight in front of himself made Jeremiah's blood boil. "Quite audacious, aren't you, for someone who hasn't the decency to stand!" He waved his gun, signaling four more Pure-Blood knightmares to land around the vehicle.

"I suggest you lose the mask!" He demanded, mentally adding, 'Then we'll see how smug you are.' Many of the more extreme Britannians felt insulted that the newcomer didn't even bother to face them standing, as though this wasn't a big deal.

Diethard Reid, however, had a gut feeling about Zero's intentions, and reached for a camera.

Seemingly ignoring Jeremiah, the masked man lazily lifted his left hand and snapped his fingers, prompting Kallen to reveal the reassembled canister.

"**Careful,**" said Zero smugly, seeing the margrave aim his gun at him, "**you know what will happen if you miss.**"

Growling, Jeremiah lifted his weapon. "What do you want, terrorist?"

"{Chuckling}** No sooner than you see me and I'm already a terrorist,**" watching this, the student council sans Millay looked at each other in confusion, "**but you have asked and I shall answer.**"

"**An exchange,**" he indicated first the container, "**I'll give you this,**" then Suzaku, "**for Kururugi.**"

"Never!" exclaimed Jeremiah, "This man is charged for the murder of Prince Clovis!"

Now Zero tilted his head, as though confused. "**Well that's strange. Then, in his command center in Shinjiku, who was it that *I* killed?**" He faced towards the camera held by Diethard, who thought grinning, 'This is all one, big performance to him!'

"You mean," the truth visibly dawned on the margrave's face.

Around the world, people came to the same realization.

"**I for one could've *sworn* it was Clovis,**" continued the masked man, turning back to Jeremiah.

"**In exchange for a single, *innocent*, Eleven, you save hundreds of **{sarcastic}***precious* Britannians. A bargain, no?**"

"You bastard!" exclaimed Jeremiah, aiming again at Zero, "Why don't we dispense of a trial and execute you now!"

Zero smirked. Neither the chair nor this next part had originally been in the exiled prince's plan.

Sitting himself upright, "**Because,**" he replied, "**you are a knight, or am I mistaken?**"

'What is he talking about?' Everyone asked themselves that for various reasons, including Suzaku and Kallen. Zero even felt the Prince listening in, no doubt both bothered by and interested in this development from himself.

"What do you mean?" asked Jeremiah, though he had an awful suspicion.

"**Is a knight not a vanguard of chivalry, a protector of the weak, and always ready to serve his, or her, master? Because frankly,**" Zero described a wide arc with his left hand, motioning around himself, "**I see none of that here.**"

It was a clear insult to the margrave's honor, but the man managed to keep himself in check long enough to demand angrily: "Explain yourself."

"**Gladly,**" good god, even Zero felt that he was enjoying himself too much, even if he didn't let it show, "**Let us examine my points one by one.**"

"**First, where, pray tell, is the chivalry here? You were about to convict an innocent man for what is my crime, perhaps you even *knew* that this was so. So why do this? I'll tell you,**" Jeremiah swore he could feel the man glaring at him, but he couldn't be sure because of that damnable mask, "**If an *Honorary Britannian* is convicted of regicide, then that gives you the right to *abolish* the Honorary Britannian system!**"

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Suzaku and Kallen's eyes widened for different reasons. Suzaku had thought that this would only happen if he resisted the arrest, when in point of fact, he almost actively shut down the biggest chance, in his mind, for his people to settle this without fighting. He mentally kicked himself for that.

Kallen, however, gripped the steering wheel angrily. Much as she resented the woman, if what Zero said came to pass, she wouldn't be able to see her mother, who was basically her only family left, anymore.

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Inside Narita Mountain, the JLF was in an uproar from the revelation. Todou had suspected as much, though, and sat quietly to see the rest of Zero's act, after getting Katase and the Four Swords to do the same.

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The Pure-Bloods winced, realizing that their standing would take a hit from this. Unfortunately, Jeremiah's reaction was captured by Diethard, showing the world that Zero had a point.

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Out of the Royal Family, only Charles, Shneizel, Cornelia and Euphimia (as well as two others) kept watching silently. Euphimia was trying to understand this man, Cornelia was trying to analyze Clovis' murderer, while Shneizel was sizing up a potential rival.

As for the Emperor, he smirked, knowing full well who was behind the mask, or so he thought, anticipating entertainment the likes of which very few of his children could give him.

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"**Second,**" Zero continued in earnest, "**a knight should protect the weak. And yet, just days ago, at the command of your late prince, you and your peers *slaughtered* an entire ghetto of unarmed people, man, woman, elderly and children alike.**"

"**And don't bother selling me the lies that the media has spun, for I would like to borrow everyone's ears,**" he rose his right hand, for the first time since this event started, showcasing the remote he held, "**for the truth,**" before pressing the yellow button. From hidden speakers added into the car, the words that prove Clovis' guilt sounded.

[Clovis: "The plan has moved forward to the next phase."] The world listened, enraptured, some disbelieving, others less so.

[Bartley: "Uh, b-but your highness-!"] Zero actually smirked, mostly because vi Britannia was laughing hard enough to make up for Lamperouge's mental absence.

[Clovis: "If knowledge of her gets out, I'll be disinherited. Tell them back home we're carrying out a planned urban renewal here."] Only those as naive as Euphiemia and Suzaku held on to the vain hope that Zero was wrong about Clovis before the next few words.

["As Clovis, 3rd prince of the empire I command you... Destroy Shinjiku Ghetto – leave no one alive!"]

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Even Shneizel couldn't completely hide his surprise at how bold his brother had grown. So it was understandable that Cornelia was shocked, and Euphiemia devastated.

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The student council was no less shocked, even Millay, who remembered how spineless Lelouch and Nunnally had described their late brother as (though Nunnally preferred to call it gentleness).

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"**And finally,**" said Zero, after giving the truth a few moments to sink in for everyone, "**to serve your master, which you have failed *twice*, Margrave Gottwald!**"

"Preposterous-!"

"**Oh? Then your two previous charges do not lie dead at the hands of assassins?**"

Jeremiah reeled, because there was only one whom he'd served before Clovis...

"**In fact, considering my previous two points,**" tapping his foot once, he prompted Kallen to inch the car forwards, "**I'd say she would be *very* disappointed in you.**"

As that final nail sunk into Jeremiah, he stared through Zero, seeing instead his beloved mistress and her children as he last saw them. Lelouch was angry at him, little Nunnally was sad, and Marianne – indeed, her beauty was marred by disappointment in his conduct.

"**As it so happens,**" his introspection was interrupted by Zero, "**you have one last chance to serve both of them *properly*.**"

"What?" he whispered. A chance at redemption?

"**I know all about Clovis' Project Orange,**" Zero said, the smirk clearly audible, "**If word of it gets out, you will fail both him and her *again*.**"

The Margrave stared intently at the mask before him, trying to work out-

'No,' he thought in realization, 'not them!'

"**Therefore,**" Zero tapped again, causing Kallen to halt the vehicle so that he was ten meters away from Gottwald, and clicked open the eye-slider, "**{I suggest you let us and Kururugi go with all your power}!**"

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Less than an hour later, Zero brought Suzaku and the resistance cell to a dilapidated theater, though the Honorary Britannian didn't know about Kallen&amp;co. While Ohgi and the others sat with each other to discuss Zero's success, Kallen fell victim to her interest in the masked man and went into the amphitheater, hiding behind a pillar as he conversed with Kururugi.

"**So,**" said the revolutionary, using Japanese simply because Lelouch, as a whole, was more comfortable speaking with Suzaku that way, "**now you've seen what Britannia is like, Private Kururugi. A rotten state governed by rotten fools.**"

Offering his hand, he said: "**Join me. Together, we can change that.**"

_'A rotten state governed by rotten fools.'_ The phrase was familiar to the red-head, as Lelouch had once used those exact words to describe his own country.

{'It's just a coincidence,'} she thought.

"Zero," Suzaku asked, "did you really kill Clovis-denka?" (AN: suffix for 'imperial prince')

"_Of course, it is only logical to kill the enemy commander._"

Huh? Was it her, or did Zero's tone... shift, for lack of a better word?

"And the gas?" asked the private, referencing the prop that Zero used to aid their escape.

"_A bluff. After all, no one died._"

Now Kallen was sure something was different. Zero was sounding rather...smug. Not that being smug about sparing civilians was bad, she was just used to his level-headed tone up until now.

"You seem rather satisfied with your results – no matter the method," replied Suzaku with a hint of bitterness at the end.

"_Join me,_" came the repeated offer, "_Britannia as it is, is not worthy of your loyalty._"

"That may be so," was the counter, "but it can be changed. For the better. From within."

The pause made Kallen assume that Zero hadn't expected that answer.

"I don't think that the ends justify the means," continued Suzaku, as he made his way outside.

"_Wait. Where are you going?_"

"In about an hour, the military trial will start." What?!

"_A-are you an idiot?_" Her thoughts exactly! "_That trial is rigged to judge you as the murderer! The police, the witnesses, even the lawyers!_"

"Even so, those are the rules." Again, what?!

"**I see,**" replied Zero, returning to his previous tone, "**you're worried about the repercussions against Japanese and Honorary Britannians alike if you don't go, aren't you.**" He was surprisingly calm considering how he was earlier. If fact, it sounded like he was reminding himself of that fact.

"Exactly."

"**Then be a fool.** _But if you ever change your mind, you're welcome to join._" Okay, this was starting to get weird for Kallen, who failed to notice the red rings in her eyes at everything Zero did that reminded her of Lelouch.

"I used to have a friend, who'd constantly call me a fool. Guess that's my weakness," Suzaku turned to face Zero, "I'd try to bring you in, but you'd probably kill me."

'Not if I get you first,' thought the girl as she watched him leave.

Turning back, she saw Zero in silent contemplation, and stepped forward so he could see her.

"**...You saw that, then?**"

"Yes, I'm sorry."

The masked man dismissed her words with a headshake. "**No harm done.**"

After a moments silence, he faced(?) her and asked: "**What about you?**"

"Huh?" She met his mask in return.

"**What do you think, about what he said?**"

Kallen opened her mouth, but couldn't answer immediately. Right after her brother died, she would've called Kururugi a complete fool, that the only way to change Britannia was through force.

But then she thought of Lelouch. Her friend did not like the current regime, but neither did he seem inclined to destroy it. And as she thought about it, she wondered if someone like him would be able to fulfill Suzaku's pipe dream, as the Honorary Britannian stood no realistic chance.

"It...sounds nice," she admitted, "too bad reality doesn't work that way." As nice as it sounds, her talks with Lelouch taught her that there is not really a *right* method, just the best one at the time it is taken.

"**Indeed, Kouzuki-san, indeed,**" looking away again, even Zero seemed to share her sentiments, unknowingly cementing her loyalty.

After a seconds deliberation, she straightened her posture, and raised her right hand in a crisp salute, the sort she's seen on TV, gaining his attention.

"Any further orders, sir?" A smile ghosted her otherwise straight face.

He considered her before responding: "**No, tell your friends to lay low again. I'll be in touch.**"

She thought she could hear him smirking, "**Dismissed, Q-1.**"

* * *

LvB: _Lelouch vi Britannia commands you_ –

LL: Wait, don't!

LvB: _Why?!_

LL: They should decide that for themselves!

LvB: _Nonsense, they love it when I make them do it!_

0: **Are you suggesting the readers are a bunch of masochists?**

LL: Well, considering that they read this because they like to watch me suffer –

LvB: _Wait, what do you mean YOU suffer? I'm the one who got killed!_

0: **I lost my army to your sociopathic brother!**

LL: I lost my friend to your psychotic fake-brother!

LL+0: B**e**s**i**d**e**s**,** y**o**u **p**l**a**n**n**e**d** t**h**a**t**!

LvB: _EXCUSE YOU? I lost my favorite half-sister to an ill-timed joke_(still your own fault)_, shut up! I lost my best friend because I had to put her down, my own sister AND my most precious follower because of Shneizel, AND my mother because of a jealous, vindictive, pre-pubescent immortal!_

LL+0: **.**.**.**

LvB: _Sir author, if you'd please._

**Sure, uh, Read &amp; Review, please!**


	5. Chapter 4: The Princess and the Witch

**AN: (Fallen-Ryu) That stint at the end was for fun, but I think I'll have the boys make comments at the end of every chapter from now on, with cameos from one or two others. And I won't argue about Megiddo, a lot of me wishes that it was cannon.**

**(SirKnightJames) Thanks for liking my changes. The ending of my R1 will be similar to cannon, but it's not Suzaku who realizes the truth, we all know how flexible (read: stubborn w/ a stick up his ass) he is with that. I had actually planned on LvB &amp; 0 explaining their circumstances bit by bit, but a flashback in those scenes sounds like a great idea! Now, as for implications for Lelouch's death in my fiction... :-***

'thought'

"speech"

"_the prince_"/'_the prince_'

"**Zero**"/'**Zero**'

"_{Geass command}_/**{Geass command}**"

{" under Geass"}/{'under Geass'}

*emphasis*

["Radio talk"]

"{voice effect}"

Chapter 4: The Princess and the Witch (Silk vs. Iron)

(_Thursday, September 3nd, 2017 a.t.b._)

'_Well that was interesting._'

Lelouch vi Britannia made his way home after the ordeal with Suzaku. When his old friend had denounced putting ends before means, it really irritated him. Not to mention the ridiculousness of changing Britannia from within.

Thank God for his mood that Kallen was there. While the ex-prince had absolutely no intention of letting her connect his school self and masked persona, he recognized that, as Zero, he had obtained a willing soldier, if her salute at the end was anything to go by.

As the Ashford Academy Grounds came into view, his thoughts turned towards the... unexpected turns of the night.

"_I didn't plan on the chair, or that speech on chivalry. I was just going to geass Gottwald and be done with it._"

Not that he minded the changes, he just found it disconcerting the he came up with them out of seemingly nowhere.

"_Between that and some of the things I said to Suzaku, it's almost like Zero has a life of his own..._"

He stopped in front of the dining room for a moment.

"_Heh, no. I'm Zero, at least until the Emperor falls. But for now, I need to be someone else._"

Lelouch Lamperouge walked in on C2 and Nunnally folding paper cranes, having no idea what he did the past few hours. The next morning he watched a rerun of Zero's debut.

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_(Imagine being able to look into someone's mind, metaphorically and literally. What would it look like? If their mind was represented by a landscape, or a room, or something similar, what would it be? What would be in it?_

_Let's leave general philosophy aside for a moment and take a look at a tangible example: Lelouch vi Britannia a.k.a. Lelouch Lamperouge a.k.a. Zero. What does his 'mindscape', his 'inner world' look like? Here's an opinion):_

Zero twirled the chess piece in his hand, observing the young boy next to himself. The masked vigilante was dressed in the outfit tailored for him, cape and mask included. In front of himself was a small, black table with a white and black chess board with the appropriate pieces on it, save the one in his hand. The white side was decimated, one lone knight, a rook and four pawns gathered around it, were all that remained, the king toppled over. Black, on the other hand, had its queen and all pawns left, as well as the king in Zero's hand, which he placed back near the white king, upright unlike its felled adversary. The other black pieces were missing entirely. But that would change.

The revolutionary glanced again beside himself. The small boy wore robes fit for Britannian royalty, predominantly black with purple linings, blue embroidery and golden buttons. His hair was black, but you couldn't see his purple eyes for the military goggles on them, allowing him to only see and hear what Zero could observe on the screen in front of them both, taking up, nay, replacing an entire wall of the room they were in.

The room itself bore little in the way of furniture, save for three chairs, two of which were currently occupied, all three similar but different in style: the prince's chair was made of black wood, and was the sort of uncomfortable chair you'd usually associate with lower class families.

Zero's chair was more comfortable while still being practical, looking more like a chair used by a business CEO, black with purple cushioning.

The last chair, currently unused, seemed like any other chair you could find in an ordinary household, aside from its predominantly purple coloring, with golden screws and blue cushioning. There were a pair of black sunglasses and matching earmuffs on it.

Looking at the screen, Zero beheld Nunnally explaining what Sayako told her about folding paper cranes, with C2 watching them with an observant look in her eye. Hearing her wish for a gentler world renewed the masked man's resolve, the same one he'd been created with, his reason to live, as it were.

He scoffed when Lamperouge promised not to lie to Nunnally.

'**That'll be difficult if you don't know that you're ignorant of the truth.**'

He had realized that Lamperouge could hear him and vi Britannia 'speak' from within their mind, but their inner thoughts were still their own.

"_I won't lie Nunnally. Not to you at least._"

Not that the prince ever bothered to keep his thoughts to himself whenever he wasn't in direct control. As far as he was concerned, he was always in control. Neither Lelouch was even *aware* of this 'room'.

'**So who's next?**' Zero waved his hand over the board, and all the pieces went back into place, save for those that weren't there to begin with. After a moment of thought, he waved his hand again. The white king left the board, standing out of reach for the black pieces in the opponent's seat. In its place stood the now purple queen, with a pink bishop at its side. They were flanked by a purple (on the queen's side) and a gilded white (on the bishop's side) knight, who were both flanked by another pair of pure white knights, followed by a purple and an orange rook, respectively.

On his side, the now gilded black king had at its side a crimson queen, with a full line of black pawns in front of them. The pieces that his side didn't have yet were assembled between Zero and the board, waiting to be promoted into place.

'**Yes,**' he thought, '**this looks about right...**'

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The next day, Kallen told Lamperouge that some of her 'friends' (incl. Tamaki) had run into Suzaku earlier, accompanied by a girl with long, pink hair partially tied into two buns on the side of her head.

'_Euphy,_' realized vi Britannia, though Lamperouge didn't recognize the name.

The Prince deduced that Cornelia li Britannia, his elder half-sister and elder full-sister of Euphemia, was the new viceroy, and spent the time in which Lamperrouge skipped first period on Monday to think about his next course of action. His mind drifted to an uncomfortable conversation with Nunnally Friday evening.

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Nunnally was busy making more paper cranes when vi Britannia walked into the room.

"Ah, Onii-" she stopped herself when she saw the look on her brother's face, "Big brother."

"_It seems that Euphie is here_," he said with little ceremony.

Seeing her eyes widen at the news, he listened to her deduce: "Then, the new viceroy is Nellie?"

He nodded, watching her smile brightly before it fell a little.

"They'll find us."

"_Of course. I'm still a little surprised Clovis didn't, but Euphie should pick up on us in a day or two, if Cornelia lets her be the sub-viceroy._"

"Do you remember? What we agreed in Saitama?"

His face twitched at the mention of that place. "_Of course. That's why I spoke to Clovis first instead of just killing him. I'll give them the same chance._"

"And 'Zero'?"

He meet her indiscernible gaze, doing his best to not look away.

"_He won't bother them... too much._"

She closed her eyes and nodded, satisfied

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As far as the Prince knew, his sister found for herself the explanation for his admittedly drastic personality-changes that he had multiple personalities ever since what had happened to them after the war. He just figured that he was playing his roles as the loving brother Lelouch Lamperouge and the masked vigilante Zero especially well.

For now, he decided to just wait on his half-sisters. Zero had called Kallen so she could tell their group to lie low until they could get a feel for the new viceroy. Until then, he could settle matters quickly with them both. Especially since Zero's 'impromptu' hint at Orange's true meaning would give at least one of them a reason to search of their own accord.

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Euphemia li Britannia sat in her new office, reviewing the Area's financial records. What with Cornelia taking over the martial and political parts of the offices, it left her with the economic and social sections.

She sighed, mentally checking off yet another one of her late brother's rather wasteful projects, Clovisland. She was in fact a tad angry that he had leveled a hospital to construct it. It was really no wonder that much of his money was unaccounted for, enough to fund a secret project all on its own. Like 'Orange', she realized.

Perhaps there was more to Zero's claims on that than her sister wanted to believe.

When asked what Zero's chastising words to Jeremiah Gottwald meant, Cornelia admitted that he was one of the men under her command as Marianne vi Britannia's Royal Guard. That alone let the pinkette deduce that 'Project Orange' concerned the whereabouts of Lelouch and Nunnally, which mustn't fall into the wrong hands. In that respect, she managed to convince Cornelia that the man did well enough, given the circumstances, so he was only demoted one rank for failure. Certainly better than working on an orange plantation. Of all things.

She was already typing her siblings' names into the search-bar when she stopped, chastising herself for forgetting her slightly older brother's wiliness. She realized that if they had kept their real names, even Clovis could've found them.

She didn't mean to insult him, but Clovis la Britannia had been talented in art and socializing, and little else, frankly.

She wondered where to search when she remembered the school she had arranged for her new friend Suzaku to join.

'I could be wrong, but...'

Since the Ashfords were allies of their mother, Lelouch and Nunnally might've sought their help after the war. It was slightly more likely than trying to survive on their own.

To her surprise, she found that Ashford Academy tended to spend slightly ridiculous amounts of money on parties and festivals, most of which had...interesting themes. Even so, after a minute, she managed to calculate that these expenses don't *completely* explain the family's bills.

The biggest remaining number, she found, was from about a year after the war, where they paid for some rather expensive plastic surgery for–

She gasped, looking upon the patient's name.

Euphemia practically dove for the telephone, ready to pull the 'I'm-a-royal-so-shut-up-and-obey' card for the first time in her life to get the information she wanted.

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(_Second Period, same day_)

"My name is Suzaku Kururugi. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Lelouch Lamperouge stared at his old friend, whom he would have never expected to come to this very school.

'_Euphie must've arranged it for him._'

Lamperouge frowned, making a mental note to look up who this 'Euphie' person could possibly be.

It irked him how everyone kept their distance from his old friend, so when class was over, he made sure to pass by Suzaku to catch his attention. Stopping at the door for a moment, he pretended to adjust his collar before heading for the rooftop.

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Like clockwork, Suzaku showed up after a minute.

Zero had expected vi Britannia to take over when he did, but to his surprise the matter was initially left for Lamperouge to handle.

"Seven years since we've used this sign," Lelouch repeated the gesture from earlier, leanig back against the guard rail.

"'We'll meet on the roof'," translated Suzaku, standing next to him, "You made sure I'd remember them all, I still see half of them in my sleep." This elected a chuckle from the taller boy.

"You know, I didn't expect to see you on TV like that," continued Lamperouge, "certainly not right after Shinjuku."

Suzaku started at the phrasing, but passed it off as Lelouch showing off his articulation skills again. He leaned forwards and the rail.

"It was a close call, I actually thought I died back there," he admitted with a hint of regret.

He caught a moment of confusion in his friend's eyes before the left eye twitched.

"_I thought so too, what saved you?_" vi Britannia hid his suspicion at Suzaku's regret, one which, unbeknownst to him, Zero and Lamperouge shared.

The latter, however, was also confused.

'Suzaku almost died? Just what happened?'

"My father's old watch, it stopped the bullet," replied Suzaku, "So...do I still call you Lelouch?"

"_As far as the world is concerned, Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia are dead. We go by Lamperouge now,_" answered the ex-Prince.

'Lamperouge isn't my real name?!'

"Nunnally? She's here?"

"_Yes, and I know she'd love to see you, especially to know you're safe after what happened with Zero._"

"Oh...right."

Seeing his friend's reaction, Lamperouge steeled himself to launch his personal investigation.

"How was he?"

"Hm?"

"Zero. What was he like?"

"Well..." the honorary Britannian turned around to lean backwards against the railing, "Not quite what I expected. He understood why I still went to my court martial after that, and actually invited me to join him, but I said no."

Lamperouge quirked a brow. "Why?"

Suzaku scowled. "He's just a terrorist who justifies his means with the ends, not caring about who gets caught in the crossfire."

"You mean like the *fake* poison gas he used to scare off the civilians?" Suzaku winced, but his friend ignored it and continued, "Or the murder of Clovis to stop the massacre at Shinjuku? Or how about the way he dressed down Margrave 'Orange' for being a stain on every knight's honor? And, oh yes, saving you from certain death by revealing that he was the culprit?"

"What are you trying to say?" grunted the Japanese boy.

"What I'm saying is that, while Zero is working against the government, that doesn't mean he isn't thinking of the little man. Because unlike *real* terrorists," Lelouch thought of his conversation with Kallen, "he doesn't randomly throw bombs around, trying to take down as many 'damned Britannians' down with him as he can."

"But he is trying to destroy a system that's already in place, he said as much himself!" shouted Suzaku, trying to get his friend to see things his way, as he stood up to face Lelouch.

"What if that system *needs* to be destroyed?" countered Lamperouge, stopping his friend in his tracks, "What if it's too dangerous to leave alone, and anything else you try just gets you skewered?"

"Then at least I'll have tried," said Suzaku, only for Lamperouge to let out a giggle.

"Good one," he said, until he saw the other's serious face.

Dropping the smile, something clicked in his head. While the other two voices were busy taking Suzaku apart for being **naive** and an _idiot_, he came to a disturbing conclusion.

"You're seriously trying to die...aren't you?"

Those words derailed everyone's thought-trains, as Suzaku stared at him with widening eyes, Zero and vi Britannia fell silent, and Lamperouge could hear a gasp from the doorway.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Don't even try to lie, Suzaku, you suck at it," snarled Lamperouge, "You deliberately took a *bullet* for me, and earlier you seemed rather...disappointed...that you didn't die from it."

He was now standing at full height, staring down his friend, who stepped away from the railing while trying to hold his gaze but was reminded of the Emperor, so intimidating was it.

"You said Zero's results were worthless because of his methods. But what about when the *results themselves are disgusting*?!"

Both boys were in motion now, one advancing, one retreating.

"And don't even try to say that it's for a good cause. What happened to changing the system even if it kills you? I think you're actually more focused on the second part of that thought."

"No, I-"

Suddenly Suzaku found the wall with his back, realizing only now that he had been in motion. Lamperouge angrily smacked his left palm against it next to his friend's head, amethyst eyes boring into emerald.

"You're planning to *die*, Suzaku! *Nothing* can justify that!"

"I have to!" shouted the Japanese boy, closing his eyes to escape the pressure exerted by his friend.

At that moment, the school chimes rang, signaling that classes were about to resume.

But Lelouch had one last thing to tell his childhood friend.

"Before you try to die...make sure you've actually *lived*."

Suzaku looked at him in confusion, noting the Britannian's tone was now disappointed rather than angry.

Lamperouge then stalked off, grabbing Kallen, who yelped in surprise, as he made his way through the doorway back down to class, though the Honorary Britannian couldn't see that from where he was.

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During the next class, he just sat in his seat, ignoring Rivalz' questions and Shirley's glancing while his (three) minds tried to sort themselves.

Zero had considered it possible after Suzaku's slip, but he still had a hard time believing that Suzaku would want to die for no reason. He didn't even have a theory, only Suzaku's opinion of himself to go on. He also noted that the prince had neglected to subconsciously block the conversation from either of the others' memories, like he usually did.

Vi Britannia was still reeling from the revelation. Even more disturbing was that he hadn't even considered the possibility, yet clearly heard himself *rightfully* accuse his old friend of being genuinely suicidal.

Lamperouge's focus was elsewhere, piecing together what he had learned, which he somehow ended up remembering.

1\. His birth-name was vi Britannia – he was royalty. Why he and Nunnally were all the way out here, he didn't know yet. He reasoned that it's because he felt that the court was not safe for his sister.

2\. All of Zero's actions so far conveniently took place during large gaps in his own memories. It wasn't a stretch to think that he became involved in Shinjuku not long after Suzaku almost died for him. In fact, when he asked C2 earlier about Clovis, she seemed rather surprised that he'd ask, before he felt himself covering it up as a 'what if' scenario.

He had a frame to work with, but he needed more pieces to complete the picture.

"Lelouch?"

He looked up, and found Kallen sitting to his right with a concerned look on her face. Class was over, apparently, so it was currently lunch break.

"Are you okay? You look kind of lost," she said, in English.

Sighing, Lamperouge leaned back, looked at the ceiling and asked: "How much did you hear earlier?"

"I...followed right after Kururugi but," she admitted, "I couldn't hear you until you asked him about Zero."

_'{sigh} Good._'

'So the emotional voice doesn't want her to know about my royalty.'

"Let's go outside for a bit," he declared, writing a short message in Japanese, which he discreetly hid in Suzaku's book as they both made their way out.

Shirley pouted because the last time she interrupted Lelouch's lunchtime with Kallen, he had refused to say much for the rest of the day to anyone except Nunnally, so she had to wait until later to ask him what's wrong – if he was even still bothered by then.

Soon after, Suzaku came back with his bought lunch (for which he had been overpriced) and found Lelouch's note, reading with slight surprise and relief.

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"So, you know that guy?" asked the red-head in Japanese as they sat on the rooftop – the same one from earlier, actually – with their boxed lunches.

"We're childhood-friends actually. We met not long before the war," answered Lamperouge, "Although, we didn't get along at all at first. You know, because I'm a Britannian."

"Huh. He seems rather mellow about that now," Kallen said with a raised brow.

"Yeah. I don't know what happened, but he seems rather supportive of the idea that everyone is redeemable."

"You don't think so?"

Lamperouge stopped to think about that.

"I...haven't really thought on that," he admitted with a frown.

Kallen smiled before asking: "So, how'd you end up getting along?"

"Nunnally."

"Ah, I see. So not the same way as us."

With a teasing grin, he asked: "Jealous?"

Sputtering with a red face, the half-Japanese shot him a baleful glare, only making him chuckle.

"Don't worry. While he's my first real friend, I think you come out on top. Why are you so red?" he asked, as it was getting hard to tell her face from her hair now.

"No reason," she grumbled.

Having a thought, he asked: "So what do you think of Zero? I already asked Suzaku, and I'm pretty certain you watched the news too."

"Actually, I had a backstage pass," she said with a smirk.

After a moment, it clicked.

"You were the driver?!"

"Yep."

"Holy cow. You're not pulling my leg, are you?"

"Was that an offer?" He saw her hand inching towards said limb, which he quickly evacuated.

"No, no. But now I *really* want your opinion on him."

"Hrm, how do I say...actually, he's a lot like you, I think."

"?"

"He made that fake gas to prevent civilian casualties, and when he asked Suzaku to join he called Britannia a – whadya say(?) – broken system not worth his time."

Lamperouge nodded, his theory sounding more plausible with each word.

Then he had a thought: "Wouldn't that make me a prime recruit?"

"What about Nunnally?" she shot back, "Also, I don't think Ohgi-san and all would be exactly thrilled to be working with a Britannian just yet."

"Right, true, true."

'_Good. Conditions cleared._'

Lamperouge kept his face neutral.

'Cleared for what?'

'**The endgame.**'

He actually dropped his sandwich at that.

"? Lelouch?"

Regaining his composure, he said: "Ah, I just realized how glad I am to have met you."

Seeing her reddening face, his own heated up as well.

'Did I just fucking say that?'

'**Yes, you fool.**'

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After having dinner with Suzaku over, much to Nunnally's delight, Lelouch escorted his old friend out of the clubhouse.

Suzaku stopped not far from the porch, turning towards his friend.

"Lelouch, about earlier-"

"It's fine...okay, it's not fine, but, you know what I mean," interrupted Lamperouge, waving off the concern, "don't apologize for it. Yet."

"Wha-what do you mean? You're not gonna tell anyone...are you?" asked the Japanese nervously.

"I don't have to. Nunnally is my sister after all," was the reply.

"Ah...oh...look, Lelouch?"

"What?"

"We shouldn't be seen together at school-"

"Oh no you don't!" the Britannain boy interrupted him again, "I'm putting in a personal favor with Millay to get you into the student council!"

"But-"

"I am *not* letting you suffer through discriminatory bullying because of your stubborness. And don't even try to talk her out of it. I know for a fact that she'd be interested by the prospect, and if something gets her interest, the best thing to do is roll with it. Trust me – I speak from experience," he finished with a shudder.

With an exasperated sigh, Suzaku gave in.

"Alright, have it your way. See you tomorrow-"

"_Wait._"

Lamperouge watched as his body regained his friend's attention, and upon making eye contact –

"_{I want you to live.}_"

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On Tuesday afternoon, two ladies and a gentleman were in front of the clubhouse where Lelouch and Nunnally stayed. Euphemia convinced her sister to take a quick break to confirm what she had found, though the viceroy insisted on bringing at least her Knight of Honor, Gilford, with. The only reason they didn't have a bigger escort or made their station blatantly obvious was because Euphemia argued that they might scare off their siblings that way.

That explains why Cornelia was dressed in a maroon shirt, a purple cardigan and black jeans (anyone who knew Lelouch would be surprised at how similar this and his casual ensemble looked) while Euphemia wore a white dress similar to what she had on when she met Suzaku, except with less frills, and Gilford wore an impeccable black suit and sunglasses. The girls had their conspicuous hair hidden beneath a pseudo-military cap and a straw-hat, respectively.

They both nervously looked at the door, neither of them felt ready to have their hope confirmed or possibly crushed. True to form, Gilford's face gave nothing away, althouch he shared the princesses' anxiety.

It was this scene that Lamperouge and Nunnally beheld after coming back from school that day, the former tired from having to hide Zero's mask from everyone, while getting Suzaku into the council. It was days like this where he was positively convinced that Millay's sole reason to exist was to torment him.

Upon seeing their visitors, Lamperouge went out like a light, and Nunnally looked nervous.

"_Well, look who decided to drop by. You took your time._"

Startled, everyone present turned towards the speaker.

"_Well don't just stand there. Why don't we all go inside,_" offered Lelouch vi Britannia with a chilling grin.

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_LvB: Lelouch vi Britannia..._

LL: Do we *have* to let him?

**0: Let him. As he said, they enjoy it.**

_LvB: ...{commands you to review}!_

**AN: The part that plays within Lelouch's head is just a visualization of how I think my Lelouch's brain interprets his damaged psyche.**

**Next chapter starts with the cat-chase! Followed by a family reunion!**


	6. Chapter 5: The stolen Mask

**Ya'll didn't seriously think I'd skip Arthur, did you? Enjoy my revised chase! You'll also find out exactly how Lelouch's talk w/ Clovis went, and some more.**

**Now, the biggest reason for the long wait here is the original content. I usually base my chapter content off of canon, or adapt the canon form to my story. However, the meeting in the latter half of this chapter never took place in canon, so I had to adlib, more or less.**

**Huntsman8888: I already have something in mind for that. But you'll have to wait till Mao shows up to see.**

**GodBreaker: Yes, she can. I specifically make mention of her eye color in that same chapter. I'm sorry if it wasn't clear to anyone, but yes – Nunnally **_**can**_** see. And before this chapter is over, you'll find out why.**

**draven32: Yes, I actually found out right after I posted the preview for this chapter. I literally jumped for joy! All Hail Lelouch!**

**Scarease: I honestly dove into this knowing full well that I had a lacking knowledge in the area. Although in 'Outlast', one of the characters does exactly that. Same with a recent movie, where the antagonist has 23 personalities – or, at least, most of his personalities are aware of each other. Considering the supernatural elements of the franchise, I might add a metaphysical twist to Lelouch's condition. Still, I would very much enjoy a more detailed explanation from someone with somewhat personal experience in the matter, if only for the sake of learning.**

**OBSERVER01: Now there's some ideas! I already have something planned for Mao, and something similar to what you suggested, but the crossover sounds good! I'll wait for that until after the new CG thing comes out, my other reincarnation Xover is probably gonna get un-cannoned.**

**AnimePanda: Let's wait for that until we get to the end of R1, k?**

'thought'

"speech"

"_the prince_"/'_the prince_'

"**Zero**"/'**Zero**'

"_{Geass command}_/**{Geass command}**"

{" under Geass"}/{'under Geass'}

*emphasis*

_Flashback_

["Radio talk"]

"{voice effect}"

Chapter 5: The stolen Mask (and its Origin)

(_Tuesday, September 8th, 2017 a.t.b._)

Early that morning, before class, Lelouch vi Britannia was busy sorting out his Zero gear, including a small suitcase where he intended to stow the mask.

"That's the third time you've gone through that stuff," remarked CC as she walked in with *another* pizza (oh, what a surprise) that she ordered with his credit card.

"Don't you ever get bored of being so paranoid?"

"_What can I say? I like to be extra careful,_" replied the Prince, as the door opened to reveal Nunnally, pushing herself along.

"Good day, Onii-sama," she greeted, "Sayako-san just made the tea."

"So much for being careful..." CC observed Lelouch for a reaction, but to her disappointment, it was almost as if he'd expected this.

"Don't tell me you were going to tell her anyways," said CC, upset that she did not get the opportunity to poke fun at the boy for letting his guard down around his own sister.

"_I didn't need to, after all she's my sister,_" he replied smoothly, "_If she was still blind, that would be different, but as such, I would only be giving myself more trouble in the future if I tried to hide this,_" he held up the mask, "_from her._"

"Party-pooper," she complained, leaving the room with her pizza in hand.

"Onii-sama," Nunnally spoke up, "When you're done, would you join us for breakfast?"

Blinking for a moment, Lelouch answered: "Of course, Nunnally. Tell Sayako-san that I'll be right there."

As she left, Lamperouge looked at the object in his hands.

'This settles it,' he thought, 'I *am* Zero.'

'**Not quite.**'

'...' His brows furrowed. 'No. *You* are Zero, aren't you?'

'**I'll give that a 95 because you forgot about your...peculiar state of mind.**'

'Excuse me if I didn't immediately connect voices in my head with split personalities, *sir*.'

'**Now now, leave the sarcasm to us, I think you have a 'family' to attend to.**'

Lamperouge wanted to ask more, but the vigilante was right, if worded in a strange way.

Absentmindedly, he placed down the mask on top of the case and left, barely missing the cat that climbed in through the window.

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Soon after, Millay was on her way to the siblings, intent on roping – that is, including Lelouch into her latest scheme. What that was, was forgotten the moment she saw a cat with an oddly large head zip past her, only for Lelouch to show up in hot pursuit.

It wasn't so much the cat that brought her gears to a grinding halt. In fact, the shock of seeing Lelouch _running_ was enough to make her forget what the cat's head looked like.

"...There's only one reason Lelouch would drop his weakling facade," she finally said with a smirk, "That cat's got dirt on him!"

Indeed, when the siblings saw the cat make off with Zero's mask, Nunnally froze while Lelouch scrambled to go after it.

When Nunnally then got to the PA-room of the student council building with Rivalz and Nina, Millay asked about the cat. The young cripple only got as far as confirming that what the cat had was Lelouch's before the President turned on the system, making the ex-princess's eyes widen in horrified realization.

"No, wait, Millay, no!"

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["Everyone! It's cat-hunt time! There's a cat on campus with something valuable from our vice-president! Participating clubs get a budget priority. First one to catch the cat gets a special prize – a kiss from a student council member of their choice!"]

When Millay was done with her announcement, she turned around and froze alongside the other two at the *ice-cold* smile Nunnally was giving her.

"Millay-sa~n..."

{gulp}

It was at that moment Nina learned that there are scarier things than Elevens.

Like an angry Lamperouge.

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"God damn it, Millay! I am *not* gonna get my fist kiss this way!"

Kallen had been on her way to class when the Student Council President's announcement sounded through campus. She knew that the ones deepest in the shit would be herself and Lelouch, being the most popular girl and boy respectively.

Not to mention the things her fanboys said just now grossed her out.

What made it even worse was that now, her sick-girl act was working against her, she can't run in front of other people. And as far as she knew, Lelouch wouldn't fair much better.

'Okay, if I was Lelouch, how would I catch a thieving cat...? Corner it somewhere where it can't evade me! Like the bell-tower!'

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"Millay! I swear, some day I'm gonna kill you for this kind of shit!"

Lelouch was running through the hallways at top speed, earning himself many big eyes. Probably because, despite skipping PE all the time, he did work out on his own, though his school uniform belied the evidence.

What he didn't know was that vi Britannia had been rather 'reluctant' to accept the idea until his logical thinking (aka Zero) pointed out that it might be beneficial to better protect Nunnally.

With how fast he was, he managed to chase the cat all the way to the bell-tower, everyone who had seen him was too surprised to register the cat's loot. Unfortunately, just because he was *better* at PE than in his childhood, didn't mean that he had limitless stamina.

He hadn't counted on Kallen showing up and, seeing no one else around, sprinting up the tower.

"Oi! Wait!" Lelouch ran to keep up with her, but she was getting away bit by bit.

Looking back without slowing too much, she replied: "Holy—you managed to keep up with that thing!?"

"Why is that so surprising to *you*?! Moreover, why are you in a hurry to catch it?!"

"Weren't you listening?! My lips are on the line here!"

"Oh, what, are they reserved or something!?"

"Tha-! That's none of your business! And I thought you skip PE!"

"I do! I just work out on my own time!"

"You just don't want people laughing at your body, you stick boy!"

"Quiet, you fake shut-in!"

By this time, they both reached the top, without seeing the cat. They both concluded that it must have climbed up to the bell.

Kallen was right at the window when she saw the crowd gathering around, before Lelouch pulled her back, turning her to face him.

"Now wait a minute!"

"Let go! I can catch that thing in no time!"

"You're supposed to be sick, what do you think will happen if everyone sees you climbing better than the cat?!"

Kallen opened her mouth, but nothing came out for a moment.

"...What?"

Lamperouge took that moment to process what he just said. When he did, he sputtered: "A-anyways! Stay here!"

'**Smooth, real smooth.**'

'Shut the fuck up!'

He sped past her with a flushed face, while hers went from bewildered to amused as she watched him climb out onto the roof.

'He complimented me without realizing it? Again?'

She covered her mouth to hide the smile for no particular reason, though she didn't seem to register her blush.

Everyone below got restless when they saw their vice-president climbing out of the window and up the slanted roof of the bell-tower. Lelouch managed to catch a glimpse of the cat as it shook of the mask, which fell onto a miniature spire. Sighing with relief, he grabbed it – and lost his grip, slipping back down the roof.

He went sailing past the window, Zero throwing the mask inside before Kallen caught him by his hands, suspending him.

"Okay, definitely heavier than I thought," she admitted, "But still a light-weight."

Lelouch grunted in annoyance as the faux sick-girl hoisted him up, pretending to struggle with it before collapsing inside the room together.

"Whew, thanks," said Lamperouge, before freezing when he remembered what else was n the room.

"No pro—what is this?"

Horrified, he looked up to see Kallen holding Zero's mask.

"Ah, that, I uh..."

"Is this..."

"Kallen—"

{"A replica?"}

Wait, what?

Lamperouge looked at her bewildered, but she paid him no mind.

{"No wonder you don't want anyone seeing this, knowing Britannians, they'd accuse you of being one of us, or worse, Zero himself."}

He saw the red rings around her iris', and had a sinking feeling.

'What's wrong with her?'

'**Apologies,**' replied Zero, '**that's my failsafe. She won't suspect you of being me.**'

'...'

{"Lelouch?"}

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Could you hide that somewhere? I'll have Sayako-san pick it up later."

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When they came out, Suzaku was waiting there, fretting over Lelouch's well-being. This drew unhealthy attention from the other students, until Lelouch declared Suzaku as his friend, and that those who mess with him could expect similar consequences to messing with Nunnally.

That shut them up.

Right afterwards, he asked Millay to induct his old friend into the council, though the two Japanese and Shirley were wondering about her, Rivalz' and Nina's spooked faces, while vi Britannia glanced at his sister, who smiled innocently.

When the question came to the kiss, he simply pecked Kallen on the cheek. Blushing, she followed up in reverse, bringing back Madame President's normal self by 'ruining her fun'.

On their way back to their home, Nunnally asked why Lelouch had a strange look on his face. Vi Britannia, who'd had no idea, was shocked to find the lost expression he had on.

That came to a quick end upon spotting their half-sisters in front of their door.

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Inside the Lamperouge residence dining room, the four (half-)siblings sat at the table, Gilford standing behind his princess and her sister, and Sayako busy serving tea after passing on Lelouch's message to CC to stay out of sight. Said witch interpreted such as that she could hide behind the kitchen door, allowing her to hear what was spoken.

After a while, vi Britannia broke the silence.

"_Oh come now, what's with the mood here? Even mother's funeral was merrier than this._"

His half-sisters flinched at how *callously* Lelouch mentioned his mother, remembering his initial reaction to her death.

"Why?" asked Cornelia.

"_Hm? Why what, please speak clearly, Cornelia._"

"Why didn't you come back?"

"We won't."

Their guests turned their heads sharply at the speaker, who sat in her wheelchair sipping her Earl Grey. Lelouch merely glanced over in confusion at her flat tone.

"Nunnally?" asked Euphemia.

Setting down her tea cup, the youngest royal present turned her half-lidded eyes at her extended family with a small frown. Cornelia felt reminded of the times when Marianne had reprimanded her whenever she saw the need to.

"We are not going back," she said, her meek and sweet tone gone flat, "and if anyone tries to countermand that, we will disappear again – *for good this time*."

It was a clear warning. If the li Britannia sisters didn't keep them a secret, then Lelouch and Nunnally would cut ties with them and the Ashfords, if need be.

"Wha—Nunna—I—"

"_You didn't think being cast aside by that man would have consequences, did you?_"

Lelouch interrupted Euphemia's stutter.

"_I said it back then, and I'll say it again – I'm *tired* of the infighting. We will have no part in it._"

"Lelouch," Cornelia started anew, "What happened to you? This is clearly more than the exile. And how can Nunnally see?"

"_...Let's just say I...made a mistake..._"

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_10 year old Lelouch with 8 year old Nunnally was making his way through the ruins of Tokyo, in the opposite direction of the Britannian embassy. His impatience, however, caused him to turn towards the general direction where he knew the Ashfords could be found sooner than he should have, taking them through the Saitama ruins._

(**Queue the moment their lives got royally fucked up**)

_Certain Japanese, one of whom would later become the leader of a cell of fighters based in that area, found them, caught them, intent on letting out their anger on them._

_"You're wasting your time."_

_"Huh?!"_

_"That girl is no better than this place. Broken, helpless. You might as well keep destroying your own home for all the good that hurting her will do."_

_"Onii-sama?"_

_"But look at me. I'm perfectly healthy. *Strong*. Just like Britannia. So do your worst."_

_"Have it your way brat! The cripple gets to give you a soft pillow whenever we're done with you! And moreover, we'll skip having to tell her about you experiences second hand!"_

_{screaming and cursing in English amongst slashing, sizzling, pounding and Japanese voices, some of them laughing}_

_"Onii-samaaaa!"_

_"Ah! Ahh! Argh! AA_AAARRRRRRRGH!_"_

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"...What did they do?"

The prince perked up at Cornelia's shaky voice. "_Pardon?_"

"What...did they..." She was having difficulties swallowing the story so far, and the worst was yet to come.

Lelouch regarded her a moment longer, before asking Sayako: "_Sayako-san, the photo please?_"

"Photo, as in...?" came back hesitantly.

"_Yes, *that* photo, if you please._"

Bowing, the Japanese Maid made her way to his room, ignoring CC both on the way there and back, when she gave her master a five by seven inch (ca. 13x18cm) photograph, purposefully keeping the reverse side towards his half-sisters as he accepted it and held it in front of himself.

Unbeknownst to him, Zero winced at the image, finally understanding how Lelouch's mind came to spawn him, who only had clear memories from after his 'conception'. He also thanked whatever higher power might exist that Lamperouge was out of commission, he might've reacted badly enough to wrest control of the body, and wouldn't that be awkward?

Vi Britannia felt the wince caused by Zero, but chalked it up to himself reacting to 'unpleasant' memories.

"_Cornelia,_" said princess looked away from the photo, her trepidation leaking through her otherwise immaculate poker face, to her brother's eyes, "_You're asking the wrong question._"

Seeing his sisters' confusion, he clarified, dramatically laying down the picture for all to see.

"_You should be asking for what they *didn't* do._"

Euphemia stifled a gasp with her hand, Cornelia drew in a sharp breath, and Guilford's face leaked his discomfort at the picture. Nunnally closed her eyes, prompting Lelouch to lay his hand on hers in comfort.

A boy, no older than eleven, with unkempt black hair that had grown beyond how he normally wore it, and amethyst eyes, usually so piercing, now dull with untold pain of multiple types and a nasty scar across the left eye.

Those were the only reason the guests recognized young Lelouch vi Britannia. Everything else visible in the photo, which showed most of his starved torso, was a mess of bruises, cuts and burns, the newest of the latter two arranged in writing. The words 'FUCK BRITANNIA' scorched into his chest was the prominent one, though Cornelia guessed that the English 'Graffiti' was the last development, as one could clearly see the Japanese' strange symbols underneath, whether as scars, scabs or burns.

What Euphemia didn't see, but her sister and Guilford did, was the particular look in his eyes, which spoke of things one should never do to a child.

"_As you can see,_" Lelouch spoke, acting as though it was 'just another day in the office', "_They took great care to keep me mostly intact. No severed limbs, or other such permanent, physical damage._"

"Why those..."

"_Now now, Nelly,_" he chided, his cheery tone even more out of place, "_They only did as they were taught._"

"Taught?! By whom!?"

"_Why, Britannia of course, you ninny._"

Both princesses stared at him wide-eyed, seeing the madness surface itself in his face as he stood up.

"_As far as Britannia is concerned, you are either strong or weak. If you're strong, then you get to do whatever the fuck you feel like, unless you step on the toes of someone above you. In that case, you are weak, and your only privilege is to wait for the day that you become a disposable plaything for the strong._"

His voice was laced with venom, but even more so pain, under the guise of a deranged smile while he looked away from everyone else.

"_Really, does abducting helpless children to keep for your own, sick entertainment *not* sound like something a 'model' Britannian noble would do–?" _

Lelouch was cut off by Euphemia embrace him, having missed her getting up to go around the table to him.

"_Eu-Euphie?!_"

Vi Britannia was so surprised that his block on Lamperouge stopped working, letting the 'normal' boy find himself in the arms of a girl his age, who was sobbing.

"Oh, Lelouch," she said, sniffing against all decorum.

The ex-prince was still paralyzed by this development, not having planned for it.

"Nelly?"

Nunnally's voice brought his attention to his oldest sister present, but his confusion only became disbelief at the sight of her _bowing her head to them_.

"_Wha...I..._"

"Lelouch, Nunnally," she spoke, her voice cracking under her tears, "I'm so sorry."

"...For what?"

It was Nunnally who asked that, not in confusion, but inquisitively.

"I asked to be deployed here in the war, so I could save you," Cornelia explained herself, "But I was denied..."

"By *him*, no?" finished the cripple, her impassive face belying the venom she held in that word.

"I should have gone anyways, but I was a coward. I let my fear of him get the better of my...no, I have no right to say that to you."

Cornelia lifted her head, showing her siblings the face of a woman with regret.

Vi Britannia still couldn't say a word, he literally could not act in this situation. But someone else could.

Lamperouge closed his eyes, and returned Euphemia's embrace.

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When they got back into their chairs, Cornelia asked how they escaped.

"Zero saved us," replied Nunnally.

'_Hrm, I suppose that works._'

'Is that even true?'

'**Partially, yes.**'

...What?

"I couldn't stand listening to Lelouch's screams anymore, so much that I forced my eyes open."

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_Finally, after nearly three full months, Nunnally had had enough of listening to her brother screaming, while she was left unable to do anything about his suffering. This whole time, she fought against whatever it was that kept her eyes shut, the little girl wanting to at least share his pain if not stop it. And on the 85th day of their captivity, she succeeded, painful, dim light flooding into her eyes again after almost half a year without it._

_The first thing she saw was her brother's form, suspended by the ceiling with a chain. She almost didn't recognize him if not for the fact that she knew that place was where his screams and rants and ravings always came from during his 'sessions'._

_"O-Onii-sama!"_

_Hearing his sister call for him, Lelouch vi Britannia opened his eyes and saw that hers were open as well, miraculously. She began to crawl around, having difficulties both because of her legs and due to the lack of real exercise for the past weeks. Still, she managed to pile the bags of sand under a window by pushing them bit by bit._

_She avoided looking in a specific corner with a hole, where they had been forced to do their business, Lelouch having to help his sister with hers._

_Over an hour later, Nunnally had assembled the sacks enough so that she could reach the window, which she remembered was where they dumped out the garbage._

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"After that, I threw myself out into the rubbish, where a man found me. He heeded my plea to help Lelouch, and killed the Japanese who were left behind to 'clean up' the place. Lelouch asked him to bring us to the Ashfords."

"That man was Zero?" asked Euphemia.

"_He became Zero_," corrected Lelouch, having collected himself during the story, "_especially after rescuing us._"

"So you know who he is?!"

"_I cannot tell you, Cornelia._"

"Why not!?"

"_It will cost us our refuge._"

"What?"

"It's simple, Euphie. We don't tell on him, and he won't tell on us."

"_So, sorry Cornelia, no freebees._"

"{annoyed sigh} Very well. Lelouch?"

"_Hm?_"

"Judging from your initial reaction to us, is it safe to assume that you had this meeting more or less planned out?"

"_Not in detail, but yes. I had every intention of meeting you._"

"What about Clovis?"

"_Oh, I did meet him too. Pity it had to end the way it did, though._"

"...what?"

Ignoring their confusion, Lelouch pulled out the recording device that had his last conversation with Clovis on it, setting in the middle of the table and turning it on. CC listened intently, as that royal had been the reason for her past few years of pain, and she wanted to know how he died.

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_"Oh, L-Lelouch! What a sight of sore eyes, you live?"_

_"_Indeed...Clovis. Lelouch vi Britannia, formerly 11th prince of Britannia, is here...to change...*everything*._"_

_"Splendid, splendid, I'll contact the homeland once we're done here—"_

_"_And what makes you think I want the homeland to know about this? After all...

According to him, I am *dead*, no?_"_

_"A-ahaha, come on, Lelouch, brother, it'll be fine—"_

_"_Fine? What an interesting word. *Fine*. You know, seeing you, I now remember the last time my life was completely *fine*._"_

_{gulp}_

_"_That's right...it was before Mother died, wasn't it?_"_

_"Lelouch, I'm saying this right now, I had nothing to do with it!"_

_"_Did you, now? {Tell me the truth, but please try to talk normally as you do.}_"_

_{"I truly had no part of Lady Marianne's assassination. The only one who would know are Cornelia and Schneizel."}_

_"_Makes sense...Cornelia was the head of her guard, while Schneizel was charged with her corpse._"_

_"...! P-please believe me, Lelouch, I—"_

_"_I do believe you, brother._"_

_"{sigh of relief}"_

_"_However, I am rather curious...what were you doing here?_"_

_"Oh, well, these Eleven terrorists got their hands on some poison gas. I was taking the initiative to stop them. What are you doing on the consol there?"_

_"_Hrm, when was it, about...ah, yes, there we go._"_

_Clovis' orders are replayed._

_"_*Her*, hm? Not a word about *poison gas*, and on top of that, you ordered the wipeout of an entire ghetto._"_

_"Ahaha, yes, erm-"_

_"_This wouldn't happen to concern that woman I found, locked in a *gas* capsule, whom your Royal Guard almost killed me over._"_

_"They wha—I'll have them punished for that, if you will-"_

_"_Oh, no need. I've already taken care of them._"_

_"You...oh, well, good to hear then."_

_"_Brother, let me get this straight: You ordered the massacre of an entire ghetto of unarmed Japanese, over a single woman? Under a blatant cover story like *poison gas*?_"_

_"L-Lelou—{gulp}...I—"_

_"_*All* for the sake...of *inheritance*?!_"_

_"Lelouch, you know how Father gets about failures—"_

_"_*That's* what you worry over?! Not the countless lives you just *wasted*!?_"_

_"Lelouch, for goodness sake, *they're just Elevens*! Why do you care for them?!"_

_"_...*just* Elevens...?_"_

_"L-Le-Lelouch?"_

_"_What about Nunnally...is she *just* a cripple?_"_

_"{gasp} Lelouch, now, hold on—"_

_"_...You're dead...!_"_

_"W-what?!"_

_"_You died, and all that's left is one of *his* puppets!_"_

_"L-Le-Lelou-Lelouch, be reasonable!"_

_{gun clicking}_

_"_Good-bye, brother..._"_

_"Lelou—"_

_{bang}_

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As the recording stopped, their guests were deathly silent at the revelation they just received.

"_Recently, Zero and I came to another agreement,_" Lelouch broke the terse silence, "_I support him financially, and he allows me to deal with certain members of the royal family myself: Clovis, Schneizal, the Emperor, and—you two._"

The two mentioned were still coming to terms with the truth that Lelouch had killed Clovis, so they could not respond to that.

"_No worries, though. You've both shown me that you have not ended up like Clovis. Either way, Zero will do nothing to harm you two, on my word._"

"He won't?"

Cornelia picked up on that, though she tried to conceal the hope in her eyes. She was intending to press Euphy into choosing a personal knight so that there was someone to look out for her in this unruly Area – especially from Zero.

"_No, he won't._"

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After their guests left, Nunnally went back to folding paper cranes, while her thoughts drifted back to the end of the war.

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_After she fell out of the window and into the pile of garbage, Nunnally crawled her way out into the open, where she was found by a small group of Japanese lead by a red-haired man. With nowhere else to turn, she begged them to help her brother._

_Luckily for her, the leader had his own younger sister, and thus sympathized with her. They made their way back to the room where Lelouch was still at, doubling the pace when they heard gunshots._

_Upon entering the room, the men were startled at the sight of the obviously tortured boy, but were especially unnerved by the blank expression with which he first regarded his now dead ex-tormentor, by lieu of a bullet, and then the newcomers as he raised the gun in his hand._

_He was only stopped by his sister's reasoning that they were here to help, and the man holding her returning his passenger to her family._

_The boy collapsed under her weight due to atrophy from how little he had been fed and allowed to move, which was even less than he had before. Even so, he refused to let her go, staring at their rescuer with his post-traumatic straight face._

_A curly-haired Japanese addressed his leader as Naoto, asking what they should do with the now empty warehouse. Apparently, the children's captors had intended to do business with these people, but had decided to back out with no prior warning. Naoto instructed his followers to leave it be, he wanted nothing to do with people willing to do whatever they did to these children, Britannian or no._

_Sending them back ahead, he asked the two if they needed a lift._

_The Lelouch that would become Zero asked to keep the gun on his person, as insurance that this man would not double-cross them. Naoto countered that he would do no such thing, swearing it on his honor as a fellow older brother._

_With that, Zero asked Naoto to take them to the Ashfords, and to swear on everything precious to him never to tell anyone about them, which he did._

_For the next half a year, Lelouch laid in a coma, with Nunnally and Sayako taking care of him. When he finally awoke, Zero set into motion the things that would lead the li Britannia sisters to them, including the plastic surgery on most of his skin to erase the visible scars. Vi Britannia assumed that it was his own doing, and for the next six years or so, Zero went back to being partially inactive, until the day he named himself._

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_LvB: Lelouch vi Britannia..._

Nunn: Ooh, ooh, may I try?

LL: Wha – Nunnally!? What are you doing here!?

Nunn: I saw this section at the end of last chapter when we got home. Can I try your line, Brother?

_LvB: I...don't know...you don't have Geass..._

**0: She doesn't need it. (gestures for her to go ahead)**

NvB: (Puts on the puppy-dog face) Everyone, please review! For Author-san and Onii-sama!

**Next chapter! Revenge on Saitama!**


End file.
